As a corporate executive, Snow had warned publicly about the potentially damaging effects of big government deficits. But as Treasury secretary, he put aside those concerns and became a tireless advocate of Bush's big tax cuts.
Joining the White House economic team midway through the first term, Snow crisscrossed the country, arguing that Bush's policies had helped the nation recover from what he said could have been a more severe recession after the stock market collapse of 2000 and the terrorist attacks of 2001.
But that did not prevent critics from opposing his retention for the second term.
Leaks suggested the White House was considering possible high-profile replacements, including former Sen. Phil Gramm (R-Texas) and New York Gov. George E. Pataki, as well as internal candidates such as White House Chief of Staff Andrew H. Card Jr. and Budget Director Joshua Bolton.
At one point, Card called Snow and told him: "Don't pay attention to all the rumors," McClellan said.
Another senior administration official said recent published reports of White House dissatisfaction with Snow were "rogue comments that didn't reflect the thinking of the president."
Grover Norquist, president of Americans for Tax Reform, said Snow's ability to survive the whisper campaign against him demonstrated that he had more supporters and fewer detractors than many had assumed.
"It's sort of like going to your own funeral and finding out how many enemies you have," Norquist said. "And he didn't have very many."
Moore said it appeared that Snow's critics had backed off after failing to identify a better candidate and recognizing that his ouster might alienate many conservatives who supported the Treasury secretary.
"They realized that Snow has done a good job, and they were not going to be able to trade up," Moore said.
