If you had gone out a year before Blair left...and asked people about the idea of accepting Gordon Brown...the answer would have been mostly ‘no’, within the cabinet or just the public itself. Gordon isn’t a Tony Blair. Gordon doesn’t carry charisma. And Gordon doesn’t make 4-star speeches. I think Blair really didn’t care at the end, and just handed the reins over to Brown because he figured Brown would do the job for two years and then a new guy would arrive.
Brilliant Gordon and his Obama Beach speech....I still maintain that GB will end up hanging from a streetlamp.
“If it’s Brown, flush it!” Oh, that was a California governor, but maybe it applies generally.