Dana Perino will assume the post of White House Press Secretary next month, but does she have enough experience?
(SALEM, Ore.) - The new White House Press Secretary, 34-year old Dana Perino, will take over the post after Tony Snow Steps down on September 14th.
As the Deputy Press Secretary, she took over for a brief period a few months ago while Snow was treated for colon cancer, and now she's coming back as the new official spokesperson for President George W. Bush.
Blogs and other publications see Perino as both intelligent and sexy, and she is. But many questions remain, and it is too soon to tell at this point if her appearance and calm demeanor are what the administration needs as it battles to save face with a nation.
Perino was born in Evanston, Wyoming and grew up in Denver, Colorado. She attended Ponderosa High School in Parker, Colorado, a suburb of Denver.
She graduated from the University of Southern Colorado in 1994 with a bachelor's degree in mass communications and a minor in both political science and Spanish, and attended graduate school at the University of Illinois at Springfield.
After that, she obtained her masters at UIS in Public Affairs Reporting while also working as a daily reporter covering the Illinois Capitol for WCIA-TV, the Champaign, Illinois CBS affiliate in the nation's 82nd DMA or "market."
Perino was active on the university debate team and with KTSC-TV, the campus-based PBS affiliate station.
So, with one paying TV job and a PBS gig under her belt, this former reporter is set to become the official spokesperson for the United States President.
It may have been a good time to bring in a person with experience, but that does not always seem to be a priority with the Bush Administration. The president is famous for giving jobs to his friends, but he doesn't always match people up with their skills, so to speak.
One example people in the southern Gulf states may particularly recall, is Bush's outgoing FEMA Director, Michael Brown. Before joining FEMA, Brown was the Judges and Stewards Commissioner for the International Arabian Horse Association.
So while it may not be overly surprising, it is still a curious strategy that a spokesperson with a background in medium-market TV news was selected to represent the U.S. President.
First impressions are not always lasting, and that surely works in the favor of Perino. Her first attempts at filling in for Tony Snow were clearly uncomfortable moments. In all fairness, that is a huge pair of shoes to fill.
When Snow stepped down temporarily and handed her the keys to the podium on March 27th, she was worried and tense. After revealing that Snow's surgery had just uncovered cancer on his liver and beyond, she broke down in tears.
But she did better after that, showing control in her delivery. Others say that her lack of experience as a news reporter makes her come across as less polished, and more genuine. Her blueish-green eyes and blond hair convey a pleasant quality, but only time will tell if she answers questions fully and pays attention to what those questions actually are.
In the first video below we hear Helen Thomas ask questions of Perino and she does her best to answer them. That certainly seems like progress for the post once held by the angry and defiant Scott McClellan. His anger and question deflection skills are so far, unparalleled.
Amid speculation that the White Press Corps is going to "eat her alive," others say she will just be the latest in line to filter questions and deflect attempts to answer the ones that would cast the administration in a harsh light.
At five foot, one inch, it seems inevitable that Dana Perino is going to have her hands full, representing a highly controversial president in the final year of his term.
Here is a short clip of Dana Perino taking questions from the White House Press Corps:
Video
Here is a Dana Perino White House Press Conference from April 10th, 2007:
Here is a Dana Perino White House Press Conference from April 11th, 2007:
Here is a Dana Perino White House Press Conference from April 12th, 2007:
Video clips courtesy of the White House, Google and YouTube.
Who is Dana Perino? (VIDEO)Salem-News.com