The country lost a compassionate and engaging voice for conservatism Saturday when former White House press secretary Tony Snow died at age 53 from cancer. He showed the same passion for life and civility in debate that he displayed when he was first hired as The Detroit News' deputy editorial page editor in 1984.

Snow was an effective press secretary for President George W. Bush because he was willing to make strong arguments for the administration's policies that others wouldn't. He would deflate tension in press conferences with his wit and smile. He received a round of applause from the press last year before he announced he was leaving his job to try other ventures.

Compassion came easily to Snow, who taught school in Kenya and worked with the mentally ill in North Carolina before turning to journalism.

"He was smart, funny and wise beyond his years in his ability to frame the issues and talk responsibly and knowledgeably about them," says Thomas Bray, The News' then editorial page editor who hired Snow in 1984. "He made quite a mark at The Detroit News in his brief time there."

Snow left in 1987 to direct the Washington Times' editorial page before being hired as President George H.W. Bush's chief speechwriter in 1990. The president's speeches soon began to have sharper language, The News reported. In particular, the president attacked political correctness in a University of Michigan commencement speech that Snow helped write in May 1991.

Snow rejoined The News in 1993 to write occasional editorials and a column that was nationally syndicated. He eventually left to be the host of "Fox News Sunday" and even a radio show before joining the White House again in 2006.

Snow was an unapologetic conservative. He advocated low tax rates, equal opportunity and a strong foreign policy because he considered them keys to letting Americans fulfill their potential.

But Snow liked to have fun, taking good-natured jabs at politicians and singers alike. In a 1985 debate in The News about "Born in the USA" rock star Bruce Springsteen, Snow declared him "Boring in the U.S.A." He liked Springsteen but wrote, "When you get right down to it, Springsteen's vision of the world is bleak, bleak, bleak. ... This lumpenprole populism is interesting for only so long."

Snow was an adherent of the Reagan Revolution, where optimism reigned. He believed he could beat cancer, since he did it once before.

Snow served the country with style and dignity. America could use a few more Tony Snows to restore civility and vigor to the political debate.

REPRINTED FROM THE DETROIT NEWS.

DISTRIBUTED BY CREATORS SYNDICATE, INC.