Dana Perino on Denver newspapers

As George W. Bush prepares for his return to private life, to the overwhelming joy of a few people out there, his press secretary (and Westword profile subject), Dana Perino, is saying her goodbyes, too. Today, she helmed what is expected to be her last White House press briefing -- and during a breakfast with reporters noted in the SwampPolitics.com piece entitled "Dana Perino: 'Pulling Back the Curtain,'" she waxed nostalgic about her formative years in Denver:

"I grew up as a consumer of the news,'' she said. "We grew up in Denver, which was, at the time and still is, for now, a two-newspaper city... When I came home from school, I had to choose two articles from the newspaper that I had to discuss with [her father]. My dad was the one playing the devil's advocate, because we were always debating at the dinner table, which served me well all my life...

"I'm of the belief that the world needs more reporters, not fewer,'' she said. "I'm troubled...by all of the news organizations that are shrinking.''

As well she should be. Without journalists, being a press secretary would be a mighty lonely job.