Snow draws criticism for fund raising

WASHINGTON, Oct. 16 (UPI) -- White House Press Secretary Tony Snow has drawn criticism for raising money for Republican candidates with speaking engagements.

Snow, who drew a crowd of 850 who paid $175 apiece at a recent Illinois engagement, has scheduled 16 such speaking engagements before Election Day, The New York Times reported Monday.

Some political veterans, including those with strong GOP ties, have questioned whether it is appropriate for a presidential press secretary to raise money for political candidates while serving in the White House.

"The principal job of the press secretary is to present information to reporters, not propaganda," said David Gergen, who worked for Presidents Nixon, Ford and Reagan and served as an adviser to President Bill Clinton. "If he is seen as wearing two hats, reporters as well as the public will inevitably wonder: is he speaking to us now as the traditional press secretary, or is he speaking to us as a political partisan?"

"His profile should not be a political profile," said Kenneth Duberstein, former chief of staff to President Ronald Reagan, "but a press profile on behalf of the president."