Meet the press, and strike up the banjos

It's too soon to rule decisively, but it appears as though new White House Press Secretary Tony Snow might turn out to be a bit more entertaining than his predecessors.

In his first on-camera hootenanny with the press corps Tuesday, Snow not only got all sensitive new-age man on us by getting misty eyed over his Livestrong bracelet, but claimed having colon cancer last year was the best thing that ever happened to him.

And he's now doing a masochist's dream job, so I for one expect great things–like tasteless, out of place turns of racially incendiary phrase:

Asked repeatedly about reports that the government has collected records on millions of Americans' phone calls, Snow said, "I don't want to hug the tarbaby of trying to comment on the program, the alleged program, the existence of which I can neither confirm nor deny."

When asked to clarify just what that "hug the tarbaby" business was all about, Snow said something about the phrase tracing back to "American lore."

And doesn't it just make you proud to be an American to know that your president's spokesman has such fine pearls of culture and history at the top of his head?

What's next, discussing immigration policy in terms of border-hoppers and wet-backs?