NYT: The Ally: Of Blair and Bush, and the ties that bind

[kskiska]

(snip)

Mr. Blair is a firm believer in the idea that it is not possible for Britain to have an impact in the world without being America's reliable ally, and he developed a close association with President Clinton. On his last visit to Britain as president in December 2001, Mr. Clinton told Mr. Blair to get as close to Mr. Bush as he had to him.

It was advice Mr. Blair had already taken since Britain's ambassador to Washington at the time, Sir Christopher Meyer, had been cultivating the Bush campaign to make sure the prime minister's closeness to Mr. Clinton would not compromise his relations with the new Republican president.

Mr. Blair willingly became the president's defender to dubious Europeans and skeptical members of his own party, as well as his ally in Iraq. Peter Riddell, the author of "Hug Them Close," reports in the book that Mr. Blair actually found Mr. Bush a more straightforward and trustworthy partner than Mr. Clinton.

Mr. Blair's loyalty to the president has remained steadfast even though the perception that he favors America over Europe has undermined his ambition to become a leader on the Continent, and the failure to find banned weapons in Iraq — the justification he cited to win Britons' support for war — has cut his popularity at home.

more…
http://www.nytimes.com/2003/11/20/international/europe/20BRIT.html?hp

[cliss]

1. I have a better title:

"The ties that blind" or,

"the ties that choke".

It's a pretty stunning statement that Blair would think that Bush is more "straightforward and trustworthy" than Clinton. What, pray tell, did he base that judgement on? The fact that Bush does no analysis of anything, lies as soon as he opens his mouth, and follows a script which he has been told to follow?

Clinton, on the other hand, was most probably less definite about his perceptions, namely the world is not either "100% Good = us" or 100% bad = everybody else".

Sure does tell you a lot about Blair, doesn't it?

[Lindacooks]

2. Or,

the lies that bind.

[Holly]

3. The more I discover about Blair

I realise that he is a snivelling political opportunist, who abandoned his Party and those that elected him. This guy wanted to be top dog, and he thought that he could get there by codling Bush* while keeping the Europeans close.The man is without principals.
Tony had many of us fooled...lies always sounds better with a British accent.