Stumping instead of serving

Republican candidates wary of associating themselves with an unpopular president are finding lower-profile ways to raise money through the Fundraiser-in-Chief.

One strategy has been to close President Bush's fundraisers off from the press: Before May 2006, when Bush's approval ratings hadn't yet reached the Fahrenheit freezing point, 34 percent of his fundraisers were closed. Since then, 59 percent have been closed, according to the Associated Press.

This week, a second and more innovative strategy began. White House press secretary Tony Snow announced that the fundraising circuit has been graced by a more PR-safe White House star: himself.

In his White House press briefing on Wednesday, Snow said he was the first White House press secretary he knew of to participate in fundraisers. His participation, he said, was "unplowed ground." At first, I admit, I found the unplowed-ness of this ground surprising; the White House press secretary seems to be the perfect person to fundraise in the President's place. Who's better to present the President's face and agenda to eager, deep-pocketed donors than the guy who's so good at talking him up? Why hasn't anyone in this position, seemingly designed to defend the White House, gone on the stumping circuit?

Because it's unethical.

Firstly, Snow's participation in fundraisers may constitute a misuse of taxpayer dollars. While Snow has said that the Republican National Committee will pay for his travel and accommodations at fundraising events, it's unclear whether the RNC will remunerate taxpayers for salaried time Snow is using to stump rather than serve as White House press secretary.

More importantly, the White House press secretary is a nonpartisan civil servant whose employer is the state and not the President or the President's party. His job is to collect information about what's happening inside the White House and dispense it to the media. Sure, at daily press briefings with the White House press corps, he also fields questions about White House policy and plans. Sure, he may spin this information to appease the man who hired him, but his primary responsibility, like that of the Cabinet members, is helping the government run more effectively, not gilding the President or his party.

The title of White House press secretary is, after all, the White House press secretary, and not the President's press secretary. Tellingly, Snow got his own title wrong in Wednesday's briefing, according to the White House's online transcript. While answering questions about the ethical implications of his fundraising, Snow said, "I'm the President's press secretary, and one of the things I want to try to do is to help the President, but do it in a way that's consistent with my role as press secretary."

The fact that Snow flubbed on his own title verifies a persistent criticism of this administration: Personal loyalty to the President is valued above all else, including one's appointed civil service.

What is perhaps most alarming about Snow's decision to headline at fundraising events is that people want a White House press secretary to headline at fundraising events in the first place.

Not that Snow lacks charm. From my conversations with Washington reporters this summer and brief trips to the White House press room, the White House press corps seem to like him (at least more so than his predecessor, Scott McClellan).

After all, as a friend pointed out to me, Tony Snow was probably hired because he is a personality. He had a popular Fox News radio show and a guest spot on Fox News TV programming. Wherever he travels, people take pictures with him. He's not just an informational liaison between the White House and the press — he's a celebrity.

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He brings that personality, celebrity, likeability, Presidential loyalty and not necessarily much enlightenment, to the job. What some journalists have called a sense of humor about the daily briefing others might consider Snow's flip disregard for answering critical questions. Whether at the White House or at a wealthy donor's Midwestern mansion, Snow's performance is meant to entertainingly deflect attention away from his actual duty: dispensing honest information about the state of the White House. Catherine Rampell is an anthropology major from Palm Beach, Fla. She can be reached at crampell@princeton.edu.