Heartbreaking news in the wake of the death of Tim Russert.

Former White House press secretary Tony Snow -- who once told reporters "I'm a very lucky guy" -- died at the age of 53 early Saturday after a second battle with cancer.

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President Bush said Saturday that he and first lady Laura Bush were "deeply saddened" by Snow's death.

"The Snow family has lost a beloved husband and father. And America has lost a devoted public servant and a man of character," the president said in a statement.

"It was a joy to watch Tony at the podium each day."

I had the great opportunity to see Tony Snow on the stump at a fundraiser here in Cincinnati. He was absolutely fantastic, authentic, and with charisma. He also had local roots here and the crowd loved him. His service as a press secretary was a huge asset to the Bush administration.

He was also a favorite stand in for Rush Limbaugh and an excellent commentator on Fox News. To say he will be missed would be an enormous understatement.

Coming to a bookstore near you, former White House Press Secretary Scott McClellan will be dishing the dirt on his old boss, George W. Bush. Of all the jobs in Washington DC, none is more synonymous with a brown nose than that of the Press Secretary. It's a tough gig, really: a never-ending spin parade to make the president's every decision seem justified to a room full of reporters hell-bent on proving just the opposite. Attributes required to perform the duties of Press Secretary are: staunch loyalty (see Ari Fleischer), deer in the headlights calm (see Dana Perino), combative obfuscation (see Tony Snow). And when, after two or three years of daily spinning, a Press Secretary is simply too dizzy to spin any more, he or she is set out to pasture, comforted by assurances of a spot in partisan heaven.

Unless, that is, you are Scott McClellan. From Politico comes word of the revelations to be found inside Scott's 341-page Bush-buster blockbuster, "What Happened: Inside the Bush White House and Washington's Culture of Deception." Snappy title!

Inquiring minds will learn that:

-Bush used "propaganda" to sell the Iraq war!

-The White House Press corps was too easy on Bush in the run up to the war!

-Bush doesn't remember if he ever tried cocaine!

-Condi Rice is a pro at deceiving people!

-Dick Cheney is secretly running the whole show!

-Scott himself often said things that were "badly misguided"!

-Karl Rove and Scooter Libby are both dirty liars!

In other words, nothing you didn't know already. Or maybe you didn't know, and were just waiting for somebody you trust, like a former presidential Press Secretary, to set you straight. Either way, we can all thank Scott for standing by his principles and giving us the truth, albeit a few years after the facts described in his book and at a cost of $27.95.