[Owen]

I've been pleased with Tony Blair. Look in the dictionary next to the word resolve and you will find a picture of GW Bush. Look up stalwart, and there is Tony.

[ricpic]

We live in such an age of hype. Someone's a hero if they brave a snowstorm to get to work.
But when you look at what Blair has gotten through to get himself and his country to this moment; well, for once the word applies.
Let's not forget that he had to "stay the course" with a Labor Party at near mutiny and an approval rating from the British public that fell below 35% at one point. It's been one thing for our President to stand firm in the face of "the international community." He had a united party behind him and high approval ratings. But for Blair, the pressure to fold must have been immense.
Frankly, I didn't think he had it in him.
Truly, this is a case of the moment making the man, and the man making the moment.
Thank you, Mister Prime Minister.

[George W. Bush]

A nice portrait of Blair here, his steadfast friendship to America, a man who knows how to be an ally and who knows how to deal with us and with others diplomatically.

Blair has done more, somewhat unintentionally, to make Britain a world power than anyone since Churchill. Perhaps even more so if he played his cards right in the postware era. Who would have expected it?

[CyberAnt]

Well ... Tony doesn't know it, but he's about to run into an immovable object.

[McGavin999]

Nice article on Blair, and he deserves it. His reward will be to go down in history as one of the best British leaders of all times.

Now, if we can just get him to change his mind about the role the UN takes after the war...........

[MHGinTN]

He has proven to the critics that he’s simple enough to believe in one truth, and stubborn enough to stick to his guns even when it hurts.
That’s what I call conviction. That's what some of us also call I-N-T-E-G-R-I-T-Y.

integrity \in-te-gre-te\ n 1 : adherence to a code of values 2 : soundness 3 : completeness (C) 1995 Zane Publishing, Inc. The Merriam-Webster Dictionary (C) 1994 by Merriam-Webster, Incorporated

[William McKinley]

Good piece.

He’s quieter, and, until about two years ago, seemed much, well, wimpier. He was a bit wishy-washy on domestic issues, and he wasn’t particularly outspoken on international ones.

It is the third way triangulation that had people considering him like Clinton. However, given that apt description, perhaps a better comparison would be with George Bush. George Herbert Walker Bush. He was quieter than Reagan, Clinton, and his son. He was often labelled a wimp. He was very wishy-washy on domestic issues. His strong suit was navigating international diplomacy, although he was not a bold leader in moving the world the way Reagan was, or his son is. And like Blair, he had an affinity for international organizations.

In the way he stood with America through the Iraq crisis, one can find evidence that George W. is not the only Anglo leader who learned from the mistakes of George H. W.

[Boston]

Blair showed real guts. I think Americans should send Tony a thank you note.

You can do this easily at http://thankyoutony.com