Posted on 03/02/2007 6:49:04 PM PST by blam
Blair's unpopularity blamed on US friendship
By Andrew Pierce
Last Updated: 2:02am GMT 03/03/2007
Tony Blair's close relationship with President George W Bush, which led to the decision to go to war in Iraq, has been blamed by allies for his dramatic slide in popularity.
Mr Blair's close relationship with Mr Bush has made him less popular
The third and final part of the BBC2 documentary Blair: the Inside Story also discloses for the first time the exasperation of some of the Prime Minister's allies over the constant battles with Gordon Brown, the Chancellor, and the negative effects they had on the Government.
A trailer for the programme, which will be broadcast on Tuesday, says: "Tony Blair's 10 years in No 10 have been dominated by his extraordinary relationship with two men with the initials GB.
"One of them is the bloke next door. The other lives in the White House 3,000 miles across the Atlantic, the most powerful man on earth."
The programme, which is still being edited, includes trenchant comments from a "demob happy" John Prescott, the Deputy Prime Minister, and Lord Kinnock, the former Labour leader who lost two elections.
The programme, The End of the Affair by the award winning documentary maker Michael Cockerell, examines the damaging effect on the Government of the cash-for-honours investigation in which Mr Blair became the first British prime minister to be questioned by the police in a corruption inquiry.
It also examines why Mr Blair, the first Labour leader to win three consecutive general elections, is still desperately searching for a lasting legacy only months before he leaves office.
It is the friendship with President Bush, and the shadow of the Iraq war, which is singled out by his aides past and present for why Mr Blair went from one of the most popular prime ministers in British history to one of the least liked.
Mr Prescott, who last year was forced to deny he had used the word "crap" at a private meeting to describe the Bush administration, is one of the most outspoken in the programme.
Mr Bush and Mr Blair at the G8 summit: 'Yo Blair'
The Deputy Prime Minister was at the head of a Cabinet revolt last summer over the Israeli bombing of Lebanon, which was sanctioned by the White House.
In a rare interview, Lord Gould, who was Mr Blair's personal pollster and an architect of new Labour with Peter Mandelson, will disclose in the programme that the party's private polling showed that the friendship with President Bush, a hate figure on the Labour Party benches, was a huge drain on Mr Blair's personal ratings.
When President Bush was overheard at a G8 summit making his infamous "Yo Blair" greeting, it reinforced the party's private polling data that the Prime Minister was the poodle of the White House.
The huge unpopularity of President Bush with British voters is the reason why Mr Blair is yet to accept his Congressional Medal of Honour from Mr Bush.
He will now pick up the award when he is a backbencher to help launch his career on the American lecture circuit. Mr Cockerell, who has regularly interviewed Mr Blair since 1994 when he became Labour leader, requested an interview for the programme. But he was rebuffed on the grounds that the Prime Minister is "looking forward" not back and does not want to trigger retrospectives even before he leaves office.
Considering that the UK will soon be Islam North, could we not blame Blair’s unpopularity on his contempt of Islam rather than his friendship with the US.
Is the media made up of 12 year old girls or something?
If we survive the moozie plauge he will be up there in history with Churchill.
They have the right, and far be it from me to suggest otherwise.
But the forging causes of our old alliances are long since gone; if they choose to walk a different path forward from here, I'll just simply say "Godspeed! and if you really need us again, please holler." (And I can only hope we'll respond!)
And they don't like President Bush either.
THey can blame the MSM and the liberal whacko excuses the Brits have for politicians these days. Blair did the right thing for as long as he could.
And if we have a US hater after Blair, who cares?
The Brits hated America in 1776, and we kicked their asses, and if they need a reminder, we can kick British ass again, after the British Islamofascists finish doing the first round!
Blair has been in power a long time. That has to be part of it.
ping
The Muslims will vote themselves into power in a few short years in capitals all over Europe. (Anyway)
Oh come on, that can't be all it. Granted it's a large factor but considering what his government has done in the past 10 years domestically has to be just as large a part. Not that I think Cameron would be any better. At least Blair hasn't called for hug a hoodie program...
Does that mean Madonna and Paltrow (with their Bush-hating pal Jude Law) will be moving back to the Land of the Free?!!
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