Tony Snow has accepted the post of White House press secretary, CNN reports tonight. The Fox News anchor and syndicated radio host will travel the DC circuit in reverse, making him perhaps the highest-profile media player to take on the role of media liaison:

Fox News anchor Tony Snow has formally accepted the job as White House press secretary, according to three Republican sources familiar with his discussions with the White House.

The sources said his appointment to succeed Scott McClellan will be announced Wednesday morning.

Snow has been focusing on family, finances and his health, as he battles colon cancer, sources familiar with his deliberations said Monday. Neither Snow nor the White House would comment.

Tony Snow is one of the more gracious people in the radio industry, which I learned during the Republican National Convention, and hopefully he will tackle this opportunity with his customary relish. It is, without a doubt, a formidable challenge, especially with the hyperpartisan White House press corps. Josh Bolten did not select a shrinking violet, and the tenor of press briefings will change significantly from the sieges we have seen with Scott McClellan.

Will this make a significant difference for the Bush administration? Tony will make a more forceful and eloquent spokesman for the administration than either McClellan or even Ari Fleischer, who did an excellent job in the first term. From his years of radio duty, Tony knows how to talk extemporaneously and engage in debate on a moment's notice. It would be hard to imagine Tony being at a loss for words or failing to present the best case for any position in which he believes.

That could have been the key point for Tony during the weeks of negotiations. As other bloggers on the left have made clear, Tony has had his differences with this administration over the past five years. (Who hasn't?) Tony may have wanted to make sure that the next three years would bring policy efforts for which he could have great enthusiasm. I doubt Tony would have given up his lucrative positions at Fox and in syndication in order to represent policies in which he did not believe. His hiring may not have explicit policy implications, but it hints at some possible shifts.

One thing is certain -- the gaggle will be a lot more interesting.

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