As published for corner.nationalreview.com:

On my first day as White House communications director back in July 2006, I stuck my head in Tony Snow’s office to say hello. He bounded from behind his desk and said, “Come on — I want to show you something.”

Tony, who had been press secretary for a little over two months, led me out of the West Wing and up the driveway toward the Northwest Appointments Gate. “I do this almost every day,” he said. When we got close to the Secret Service guardhouse on Pennsylvania Avenue, Tony instructed me to turn around and look back at the North Portico of the White House.

“Look at that,” he gushed. “Isn’t that neat? That’s where we get to work. When I worked here the first time, for President Bush 41, I was too young and too stupid to appreciate it. This time I’m not going to take it for granted or forget what a privilege it is.”

Tony went on to explain that before we knew it, we’d all be back outside the gates on Pennsylvania Avenue looking through the fence with the tourists. “And you don’t want to be out there with any regrets, so you’ve got to give it everything you’ve got every day.”

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As published on realclearpolitics.com on June 27, 2009:

The way-too-cute, pre-arranged Huffington Post moment in Tuesday’s Presidential press conference was actually a good idea, poorly executed. President Obama answering a question from an Iranian citizen is an inspired notion – but one that would have been more appropriate as on online chat at Whitehouse.gov than a planted question in a press conference.

But make no mistake: President Obama’s use of digital media platforms has not only been effective, it is redefining Presidential communications.

Looking back through history, however, a pattern becomes clear: The contributions made by the pioneer of each new medium are largely forgotten when his successor – with the benefit of further advancements in technology and broader adoption of the new medium – masters it.

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As published on star-telegram.com on January 26, 2009:

In October 2006, things were not going well for George W. Bush or the Republicans. Iraq was a mess, and the fast-approaching midterm elections looked as though they would be a disaster. But the president was determined to give it his all, and that was how I found myself in suburban Detroit at a campaign rally for U.S. Senate hopeful Mike Bouchard.

I was a few months into my tenure as White House communications director — and a million miles removed from the press table at Reunion Arena, where I had been the Mavericks communications guy for almost two decades.

As the president concluded his remarks, I hustled for the motorcade. You see, just as the Mavericks team bus doesn’t wait for the PR guy, the presidential motorcade doesn’t wait for the communications director.

Just before the motorcade departed for Air Force One, a Secret Service agent stuck his head into the van. He told me that the president wanted me to ride with him in his limo (”stagecoach” in Secret Service parlance). I waited outside the president’s car and wondered why he sent for me. Soon he appeared, with Karl Rove at his side.

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