Harry Smith On Tony Snow: "It's not like he doesn't come with weapons."
Snow is "very good at the give and take," Smith told me. "It's very interesting, because there are others that when you confront them with certain realities, they react defensively or angrily. He reacts with smile on his face."
Smith said he only knows Snow through their on-camera conversations. He may have developed an approach for how to deal with the press secretary, he said, from watching Snow in the press room.
"If you watch his briefings, you'll see that he has a pretty spirited conversation often times," said Smith. "I think maybe some months ago I took cues from that." Smith said it was clear that Snow is "a big boy."
"His job is to put the best face on [the administration's] performance, and perhaps all I'm trying to do is say 'there's the truth, and there's your version of the truth,'" said Smith.
I pointed out that Snow had accused Smith of bring his own facts to the discussion.
"He knows how to fight back," said Smith. "It's not like he doesn't come with weapons."