Larry Speakes — American Public Servant born on September 13, 1939,

Larry Melvin Speakes was an acting press spokesman for the White House under President Ronald Reagan, having held the position from 1981 to 1987... (wikipedia)

Being a press secretary is like learning to type: You're hunting and pecking for a while and then you find yourself doing the touch system and don't realize it. You're speaking for the president without ever having to go to him.
Those who talk don't know what is going on and those who know what is going on won't talk.
I would dodge, not lie, in the national interest.
You don't tell us how to stage the news and we don't tell you how to cover it.