Bush Must Be Feeling Lonely

From the BBC:

Tony Blair has announced he will stand down as prime minister on 27 June.

He made the announcement in a speech to party activists in his Sedgefield constituency, after earlier briefing the Cabinet on his plans.

He acknowledged his government had not always lived up to high expectations but said he had been very lucky to lead "the greatest nation on earth".

He will stay on in Downing Street until the Labour Party elects a new leader - widely expected to be Gordon Brown.

Blair's approval rating, much like George W. Bush's, is hovering around 30%. How Blair is regarded, beginning in the next two years, might be an indicator of the way that President Bush may be viewed by history. Unlike Bush, however, Blair is lucky enough to have a number of domestic achievements to augment Iraq as the center piece of his legacy. Even in his speech announcing his stepping down, Blair acknowledged that his decision to involve British troops in Iraq is deeply unpopular:

"And so Afghanistan, and then Iraq - the latter bitterly controversial," ... "And removing Saddam and his sons from power, as with removing the Taliban, was over with relative ease.

"But the blowback since, with global terrorism and those elements that support it, has been fierce and unrelenting and costly and for many it simply isn't and can't be worth it. For me, I think we must see it through."

"I may have been wrong. That's your call. But believe one thing if nothing else, I did what I thought was right for my country."

Can you imagine those words coming out of George W. Bush's mouth?

One imagines that with a change in leadership, there will also be a change in the manner in which the British are involved in Iraq.

As leaders of the 'Coalition of the Willing' fall out of political favor, Bush must be feeling rather lonely.

Tony Blair George W. Bush War in Iraq Coalition of the Willing

Photo: G8Russia