Tony can't make it on $168,000

9/1 Update: Tony Snow will indeed leave this month to devote time to writing, speaking and playing a more active public role in combating cancer, a disease that he has confronted for three roller-coaster years.

Looking at my attitude of a few weeks ago I have to say that it was not a good one. Tony has served our country well and my attitude towards his leaving the White House was cynical, unwarranted and judgmental. Sorry Tony ... I can really be a jerk ... I wish you well as you make this transition!

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8/18: According to The Washington Times:

White House press secretary Tony Snow yesterday said he will leave the Bush administration before the end of the president's term, joining a long — and growing — list of top officials streaming out of the White House.

Mr. Snow, 52, who has been battling colon cancer that he learned in March has returned and spread to his liver, said financial pressures will force him to move on before Jan. 20, 2009.

"I will not be able to make it to the end of this administration, just financially," Mr. Snow said yesterday. On Wednesday, he said in a radio interview that he has "already made it clear I'm not going to be able to go the distance, but that's primarily for financial reasons."

"I've told people when my money runs out, then I've got to go," he said on the Hugh Hewitt radio show, even though yesterday, he said: "This job has been such a pleasant surprise in how much I like it. I love it."
...
Mr. Snow, the father of three children, earns $168,000 as an assistant to the president, but he made far more as a syndicated talk-show host on Fox News Radio.

Sounds like Tony has been subsidizing his income with his savings? I guess the reality is that Fox News is a better deal than the White House. Has to be a whole lot less stress.