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Tony’s road trips

By Ken Herman | Tuesday, October 10, 2006, 04:00 PM

Administration spokesman Tony Snow, who has acknowledged his participation at GOP fundraising events is an unprecedented role for a White House press secretary, today said he would subtract a vacation day to make up for his absence from the building last Friday when he went to Kentucky and Ohio to do events for Republican candidates.

But, alas, according to an asterisk note at the bottom of the official transcript of today’s White House briefing, Snow will not have to skip a day of vacation to make up for his political travel.

“Mr. Snow, like other commissioned officers in the White House, is construed to be on duty 24 hours a day, seven days a week, and therefore is not required to track vacation or leave time,” said the note. “As such, the law permits him to engage in political activity (such as speaking at fundraising events) during normal working hours without the paperwork required of employees who are on a leave system.”

Snow’s political fundraising schedule continues this week with a Thursday stop in Wisconsin and weekend events in Iowa and Illinois, including an event for embattled House Speaker Dennis Hastert, R-Ill.

Snow said his White House job always takes precedence over his political travel, and he would cancel a political trip if news developments demanded such.

“It’s one of those things where you figure out, you use your judgment on it,” he said, adding, “And the point I’ve made is if it does interfere with the day job and it starts to detract from it then I stop doing it.”

While he was gone last Friday, Deputy Press Secretary Dana Perino pinch hit at the two daily White House briefings with reporters.

“I think Dana did a terrific job,” Snow said.

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