Dana Perino

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Dana Perino
Perino in a daily press briefing, September 17, 2007
27th White House Press Secretary
In office September 14, 2007 – January 20, 2009
President	George W. Bush
Preceded by	Tony Snow
Succeeded by	Robert Gibbs
Born	May 9, 1972 (1972-05-09) (age 37) Evanston, Wyoming, USA
Political party	Republican
Spouse	Peter McMahon
Children	None
Alma mater	Colorado State University-Pueblo University of Illinois at Springfield

Dana Marie Perino (born May 9, 1972) served as the White House Press Secretary for President George W. Bush. Perino served from September 14, 2007 to January 20, 2009. From March 27 to April 30, 2007 she was the Acting White House Press Secretary while her predecessor, Tony Snow, underwent treatment for a recurrence of colon cancer, which claimed his life on July 12, 2008. On August 31, 2007, President Bush announced that Snow would be resigning his post and that Perino would become his replacement. She was the second female White House Press Secretary; Dee Dee Myers was the first, during the Clinton Administration.

[edit] Early life and career

Perino was born in Evanston, Wyoming, grew up in Denver, Colorado, and is Italian-American. She attended Ponderosa High School in Parker, Colorado, a suburb of Denver.^[1] Perino graduated from the University of Southern Colorado (now known as Colorado State University-Pueblo) in 1994 with a bachelor's degree in mass communications and minors in both political science and Spanish. While attending the university, Perino was active on the debate team and with KTSC-TV, the campus-based Rocky Mountain PBS affiliate where she served as host of Capitol Journal, a weekly summary of Colorado politics, and producer of Standoff, a weekly public affairs program. From there, Perino attended graduate school at the University of Illinois at Springfield (UIS).^[2] Perino obtained her masters at UIS in Public Affairs Reporting while also working as a daily reporter covering the Illinois Capitol for WCIA, a CBS affiliate.

Perino then went on to work in Washington, D.C., for Representative Scott McInnis (R-CO, Retired) of Colorado as a staff assistant before serving nearly four years as the press secretary for Rep. Dan Schaefer (R-CO, Retired), who then chaired a House Commerce subcommittee on Energy and Power.^[3]

In 1997, while on a commercial airline flight, Perino met her future husband, Peter McMahon. McMahon, born in 1954 in Blackpool, Lancashire, England, is a businessman involved in the marketing and sales of medical products. The couple was married eleven months later.^[4]

After Rep. Schaefer announced his retirement in 1998, Perino and McMahon moved to the United Kingdom.^[1] After a year in the UK, Perino and McMahon moved back to the United States and resided in San Diego, California, for three years. During that time, Perino worked in the field of high-tech public affairs.

In November 2001, Perino returned to Washington, D.C. and secured a position as a spokesperson for the Department of Justice,^[5] at which she served for two years.^[6] She was then asked to join the White House staff as the associate director of communications for the White House Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ), where she provided the council with strategic advice on message development, media relations and public outreach.^[7][8]

The House Oversight Committee have asserted in their findings on climate change censorship in the Bush Administration, that the CEQ exerted control of media relations in governmental scientific agencies and that, during her tenure, Perino had in fact edited Congressional testimony on the subject of the health hazards of climate change, and climate change's effect on hurricanes instead focusing solely on the health benefits of Climate Change.^{[citation needed]}

The standing Deputy administrator of the EPA at the time, Jason K. Burnett has also confirmed that an official from Cheney's office edited out six pages from the testimony of Julie L. Gerberding, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, last October. This occurred after the tenure of Mrs. Perino as chief environmental liaison to the White House, but during her tenure as Press secretary.^{[citation needed]}

During questioning on the subject in her Daily press briefings, Mrs. Perino has stated that there was nothing unusual about editing congressional testimony, and that it was in keeping with both the law and White House Policy. She has also denied claims of any censorship within her office.^{[citation needed]}

[edit] Press Secretary

Dana Perino, George W. Bush and Tony Snow

On March 31, 2006, President George W. Bush named Perino as Deputy Assistant to the President and Deputy Press Secretary. In the role, Perino communicated many times a day with President Bush's director of communications, his press secretary and his director of media affairs, filtering all environment-related media calls for the White House, as well as serving as the spokesperson for the White House on environmental issues. In addition, she served as the coordinator for all agencies on environment, energy and natural resource issues, as well as reviewing and approving the agencies' major announcements,

From March 27 to April 30, 2007 she was the Acting White House Press Secretary while Tony Snow underwent treatment for colon cancer.

On August 31, 2007, Bush announced that Snow would be resigning his post for health reasons and that Perino would become his replacement. Perino was accordingly promoted to the rank of Assistant to the President, and served as White House Press Secretary from September 14, 2007 until the end of the Bush Administration in January 2009.

Her name appeared on Washington, D.C.'s list of forthcoming foreclosure and auction sales for nonpayment of $1,921.86 of real estate taxes on her home at 318 16th Street, SE. The home had an assessed value of $684,740. The Washington Post reports that Ms. Perino avoided the foreclosure and sale by paying the overdue taxes, penalties, and interest. ^[9]

On December 14, 2008, a TV journalist, Muntadar al-Zeidi threw two shoes at Bush during a Baghdad press conference. Bush successfully dodged both, but Perino's eye was injured by a microphone stand during the commotion of al-Zeidi's arrest. When pressed Perino said, "Sure I would take a shoe for the President". ^[10][11][12]

She defended AIG, saying "If they don't get it [the bonus], maybe they won't be motivated enough to try to help the company turn around." and accusing the "rhetoric in Washington" of "demonizing people".^[13]

[edit] Post-Bush Administration career

Since leaving the White House, Perino has appeared as a pundit on Fox News. She also contributes occasionally to CNN. On April 14, 2009, it was announced that she will join Burson-Marsteller, a global public relations firm, as chief issues counselor.^[14]

[edit] References

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