Battered Blair Bows Out

When I was in London in the spring of 2003, I watched Tony Blair being hammered in the House of Commons over the nonexistent weapons in Iraq, with opposition leader Iain Duncan Smith declaring that "nobody believes a word now that the prime minister is saying." The Sunday Mirror had just dismissed Blair's earlier claims on Iraq as "rubbish."

While Blair forcefully defended himself, he was clearly under a political siege that had not yet spread to the United States. In fact, I wrote at the time, "in a very real sense, the war over Iraq is still being fought here, in contrast to the United States, where neither political party has used the failure to find weapons of mass destruction as a major issue against President Bush."

Much has changed since then, but not the damage to the reputation of Blair, who, as expected, announced yesterday that he is stepping down as PM next month.

At first, Blair was widely admired here as a more articulate advocate for the war than the president whose poodle he was accused of being. Now I think Blair is viewed in the States as a tragic, LBJ-type figure whose decade of accomplishment has been overshadowed by the Iraq mess. Conservatives never liked his New Labor approach, and liberals are too disgusted by Iraq to care about his progressive record.

"Hand on heart, I did what I thought was right. I may have been wrong, but that's your call," Blair said.

The hostility toward Blair in Britain remains far greater than on this side of the Atlantic. A brief sampling, beginning with British blogger Iain Dale:

"I have to pinch myself that I am listening to this rubbish. This speech demeans Blair. His constant craving for approval is stomach churning. 'I did what I thought was right' he has said -- twice. He sounds as if he is facing a war crimes tribunal rather than making a resignation statement. It was actually very American in tone -- very emotional. Very unbritish, if you like."

Very American--I guess that's a major insult.

In the Nation, columnist Gary Younge says: "Blair is the first British leader to leave without having been ousted by his own party or the voters. In truth, he jumped before he was pushed. Iraq alienated him from his Labour base while a new generation of Tory leader started to win back disaffected Conservatives and woo the center. He had become a liability."

Chris at Americablog is dripping with sarcasm:

"Ahhh, it seemed like only yesterday the young pup was telling lies about reasons for invading Iraq and acting as the leading enabler to Bush. Being an active participant in the blood bath of Iraq not exactly what the world needs in a global roving ambassador and he's detested within EU circles for being Bush's lapdog so whether he likes it or not, he's stuck on the conservative speaking circuit where he can have fun with all of his extreme right crazy friends who still adore him."

A few kind words from Right Wing Nuthouse's Rick Moran on Blair and Bush: