Blair Gets Bushwhacked

All was good

in Tony Blair’s world. Then,
out of nowhere, something strange happened on “the way to the Forum.”  He got Bushwhacked.

On last week
one of the world’s most visibly charismatic, politically astute and
well spoken politicians walked off of one of the grandest stages in
the theatre of Democracy: Office of British Prime Minister.

During his
ten years as British Prime Minister, Anthony Charles Lynton Blair, known
to the world simply as Tony Blair, had a Clintonesque run as
a popular and powerful leader whose influence abroad was almost as influential
as it was in the U.K. Blair swept into office in 1997 by leading his
Labor Party to a landslide victory which ended 18 years of the Conservative
Party dominating the United Kingdom. Blair further distinquished himself
by serving as the Labor Party's longest-serving Prime Minister, the
only person to have led the Labor Party to three consecutive general
election victories, and the only Labor Prime Minister to serve more
than one full consecutive term.

The pomp and
pageantry which surrounded Blair brought back visions of one of his
unmatched predecessors, Sir Winston Churchill. Blair’s voice was welcomed
around the world. From London to Lagos; from Athens to Austrailia; from
India to Iceland and from the United Kingdom to the United States people
embraced the Prime Minister. Why? There were many reasons but chief
among them was his incredible success in increasing public spending
on health and education and the establishment of a National Minimum
Wage. His work on the African Continent has been sincere and solid.
His relationship with President Clinton during Clinton’s second term
brought together two energetic men who became voices of the “least
of these!”

All was good
in Blair’s world. He was powerful, popular and progressive. Then,
out of nowhere, something strange happened on “the way to the Forum,”
if you will. He formed a strong relationship with a guy name George
“Dubya” Bush. Of course there had to be a political relationship
because of both men’s offices. However, no two major world leaders
could be more philosophically politically opposed to each other as
Bush and Blair. The juggling juxtaposition led Blair down a road that
saw his popularity in his country drop to 26% last June and to 23% in
July of the same year. What was this blind road that caused the British
to turn coats on Blair? It was his blind support for Bush’s Iraqi
war. He even became known as Bush’s poodle. On Blair’s last day
in office Bush remarked, “He’s bigger than that.” Was Bush saying
yes, he is my dog but he is bigger than a poodle; perhaps my beagle
or pointer?

The people
of the U.K. realized that Bush had hoodwinked their Prime Minister
and Blair’s unwise decision to pull out in essence got him kicked
out. Yes, he resigned but it was a forced resignation so that he could
bow out gracefully. We will never know how great a Prime Minister Blair
could have become. However, we do know just like the Republican Party
in the 2006 elections, Blair has been Bushwhacked.

It is said
that all masters look out for their dogs. Bush is no exception. He gracefully
arranged for Blair to become official Middle East Envoy of the Quartet
on behalf of the United Nations, European Union, United States
and Russia. What a hollow bone thrown to Bush’s
dog!