Talk:John W. Snow

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I do not have access to New York Times archives, however according to transcripts from John Snow's March 4, 2003 testimony before the House Ways and Means Committee [1] Snow is quoted as saying: "So we can afford a war and we will put it behind us, but we do need to make sure we have an economy that is growing and creating jobs for people who want work. That is what this plan is about, creating jobs for people who want work and growth for the economy so everybody can have prospects for a more abundant life." He also says "The reason I have comfort is the cost of the war will be small relative to the gross domestic product (GDP) of the United States."

I believe that the quote currently attributed to John Snow, "The cost of the [Iraq] war will be small. We can afford the war, and we'll put it behind us" is a selective hybrid of these two portions of his testimony and is inaccuarately portrayed as a complete and comprehensive statement. The quote as it is may have appeared in the New York Times, I honestly don't know.

Does anybody have any thoughts about this?

Since no one chimed up in support of the quote, I will remove it. If it is validated later, someone can readd it. JRP

Here is the relevant paragraph from the New York Times ([2], requires Times Select):

The cost of the war will be small, Treasury Secretary John W. Snow told the House Ways and Means Committee this week. We can afford the war, and we'll put it behind us.

So the article did reflect what the Times said except for merging the two quotes, but as per JRP it looks like the Times was a little sloppy here in not adding the qualifier about relative to GDP or (unlikely in my view, but you never know) the transcript is off.

Crust 16:05, 27 January 2006 (UTC)