Snow thinks Americans should see the sunshine
By Darleen Principe darleen@theacorn.com

WENDY PIERRO/Acorn Newspapers OPTIMIST- Former Bush press secretary and noted radio talk show host Tony Snow spoke last Friday inside the Presidential Learning Center at the Reagan Library in Simi Valley.

Tony Snow's message was about accomplishment, freedom, pride and love.

In his lecture before a packed audience at the Ronald Reagan Library on Friday night, the former White House press secretary and national radio host urged all to remember the blessings and accomplishments of America, rather than its uncertainties and failures.

"Today we find ourselves in a peculiar, baffled political age," Snow said. "Pessimism, fear and loathing flourish despite plenty reasons for good cheer. Tonight I'm going to talk about why optimism is the most realistic way to look at the United States of America."

Snow, who on Sept. 14 stepped down from his position as press secretary for President George W. Bush, delivered an hourlong lecture titled "The Politics of Optimism."

He spent many years as a broadcaster and newspaper columnist and was also the chief speechwriter and deputy assistant of media affairs for former president George H. W. Bush.

More than 500 people attended the lecture and dinner hosted by the Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation, including former First Lady Nancy Reagan, Congressman Elton Gallegly (R-Simi Valley) and city officials from Simi Valley and Thousand Oaks.

"For America there will always be a bright dawn ahead," Snow said. "This country has endless possibilities."

Snow spoke about a "sense of pessimism" that he said is plaguing today's political atmosphere. Some of the proposed policies of Democratic presidential hopefuls, such as Hillary Rodham Clinton and Barack Obama, Snow said, belong to a "world of pessimistic liberalism."

According to Snow, Clinton was recently quoted as saying that the current economy is the "worst" since the Great Depression.

"Not for me it isn't," he said.

Snow said the American economy has been expanding for the last 23 consecutive quarters. Employment has increased for 49 consecutive months- a first for American history- and the average unemployment rate is lower now than during the Bill Clinton era, he said.

The former journalist cited wellknown Democrats such as the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. and former presidents John F. Kennedy and Franklin D. Roosevelt. He called them "the old left," who weren't afraid to go to war "on behalf of freedom."

"The old left displayed unprecedented generosity and victory- transforming Germany and Japan from intractable enemies to indispensable allies. The old left took on communism and praised America without reserve. You no longer find such determination and optimism among today's pessimists. They sneer.

"The old profreedom optimistic liberalism has given way to a big government variant that's gloomier and a whole lot more expensive," Snow said.

The audience inside the Presidential Learning Center laughed when Snow compared liberal policies to real-life situations.

"In normal life when somebody says, 'Sign over your earnings and I'll take care of everything,' we call it a scam," he said. "When they say, as the federal government does, 'Give me your money or else,' we call it a stick-up."

Snow talked about his own experiences battling cancer, with which he was first diagnosed in 2005, to illustrate the kindness of Americans.

He accused liberals of ignoring successes made by American troops in Iraq.

He changed tone when he gave credit to Americans for allowing partisanship to "vanish" immediately after the 9/11 attacks.

"It was as if we flipped a switch," he said. "Immediately we drew together and at the same time we felt love. You discover your character in the hard times. We found out what we were made of."

Snow contrasted the actions of the American people with the "personal and poisoned" atmosphere in Washington.

"It's time to revive the politics of optimism," he said. "Freedom works."

Snow, who received a standing ovation from the audience, summed up his lecture with a few words: "Do not misunderestimate the United States," he said.