[Polybius]

... but he knew the salary and he knows the long term earning potential that comes from being deep inside the White House - Pat Buchanan has ridden a speech writing gig in the Nixon White House for almost 40 years. So it just doesn’t feel like the truth that he is leaving over the reduced salary for one year.

Tony Snow's colon cancer has metastasized to his liver (Stage IV). The five year survival for Stage IV colon cancer is less than 5% and the median survival duration is 16.5 months.

Tony Snow's metastasis was diagnosed last March. In four and one half years, he will have a 95% statistical chance of being dead and, in 11 months, he will have a 50% chance of being dead.

"One year" may be the rest of Tony Snow's life and he needs to ensure the future of his children that may soon be without a father.

U.S. Grant used the last year of his life while dying of throat cancer to write the autobiography that supported his family financially after his death and Grant finished that autobiography just a few days before his death.

[gondramB]

I get your point that it could be finance related even if the cause is illness rather than simply money. I wish I had posted differently.