AEI tax and budget scholar Kevin Hassett argues that the press didn’t give outgoing Treasury secretary John Snow the credit he deserved, specifically on tax policy:

If you take the time to evaluate Snow… he comes off a lot better than he’s been portrayed in the press and by the perfunctory praise offered by administration officials.
On tax policy, his tenure has been marked with repeated legislative successes. The sweeping reductions of dividend and capital-gains taxes of 2003 were followed by successful extensions of previous cuts, along with a major international tax bill. […]
The Treasury also began the use of dynamic scoring on Snow’s watch. The tax staff has developed complicated economic models that estimate the impact on the overall economy of specific tax proposals and adjust revenue projections accordingly. Dynamic scoring has been something of a holy grail for Republicans, and Snow, the Ph.D. economist, helped make it happen.

I would argue that the press paid little attention to these successes because most journalists don’t consider the tax cuts “successful” –they are “controversial” at best, and “dangerous” on occasion. But the press is only part of the problem. Hassett saves the most severe criticism for the Bush administration itself:

So why is the public perception of Snow so different from that of [Clinton Treasury secretary Robert] Rubin? My guess is that the public relations problem lies not with Snow, but with President George W. Bush. Rubin worked for a president who often shared the limelight with his cabinet members, and regularly played up the importance of their views. Indeed, he allowed his team to have public views and to discuss them and establish their own expertise.
For the Bush team, the process is much more carefully scripted. The White House message is that the president is to be credited for all things good, and everyone on the team is on message. It’s hard to imagine how Rubin, or even Alexander Hamilton, could shine in this administration. There is, after all, only one “decider.”

Ouch. It seems that Snow’s replacement has taken precautions to ensure that this doesn’t happen to him:

President Bush named Goldman Sachs Group Inc. Chairman Henry M. Paulson Jr. as Treasury secretary yesterday, turning to a prominent Wall Street insider to lead his economic team and become the chief promoter of the administration’s fiscal policies. […]
The move culminated a months-long recruitment during which Paulson rebuffed several White House overtures, according to administration officials and people familiar with Paulson’s decision making. White House Chief of Staff Joshua B. Bolten renewed the effort in recent weeks and persuaded his former Goldman Sachs colleague to meet with Bush at the White House earlier this month. It was then, after a long Saturday meeting 11 days ago, that Bush persuaded Paulson to take the job.
In the meeting, Paulson sought assurances that the post, which at times has been seen as subordinated by the White House, would have the proper kind of stature.

Getting the administration to share the credit is the first step in solving Treasury’s public perception problem. The second step — getting the press to acknowledge the benefits of tax cuts — will be much more difficult.