Famed jazz flute player Tony Snow will step down as White House Press Secretary on Sept. 14, adding one more bleeding gash to the already hemorrhaging patient known as the Bush Administration. CNN is reporting that Snow, who makes $168,000 as the White House spokesman, says he is leaving for financial reasons, reiterating that he took a significant pay cut to take the position over a year ago in April 2006.

It’s an awfully weird rationale to be jumping from the sinking ship, especially for Snow, who has the best, most legitimate reason to step down of anyone in the administration. Doesn’t “I need to focus on my health since I’m being treated for cancer” have a more understandable ring to it than “my family requires a luxury lifestyle that cannot be supported by a mere $168,000 a year for a rather brief and fixed period of time” — and if it’s medical bills Snow is dealing with, he certainly doesn’t mention it. Rather, he expects us to believe that his kids’ future college tuition requires him to bring home more bacon, which is alarmingly offensive to the millions of American families currently sending their kids to college with far, far, far less than $168,000 a year to work with.

The good news is that by mid-September, the traffic on 15th street NW should ease considerably, since no one will actually be working in the White House anymore. Oh wait, we guess Dana Perino, who will replace Snow, will still be around, which should be exciting news to male news junkies on Facebook.