Tony Blair: You Coulda Been a Contendah

I know he's all 'persona non grata' these days for his support of GWBush and the conflict in Iraq, but I'm just gonna say it. I still love Tony Blair. He and Bill Clinton made such a great team; it was truly his heyday, very much "the boys are back in town." And then, along came GWBush, and it was like Blair became the Dick Sargent 'Derwood' rather than the Dick York 'Darrin' on Bewitched. He looked the same (sort of), he acted the same (sort of), but something key that you couldn't put your finger on was missing, and no amount of Dr. Bombay, Gladys Kravitz or the amazing Agnes Moorhead's Endora could take your mind off the fact that everything had changed. So much promise, so much squandered.

I'm not sure what PM Blair's long-term legacy will be, especially in terms of the Iraq War, but I am delighted that he has endorsed Gordon Brown--a Scot--to be his successor. Putting a Scotsman in No. 10 Downing Street will be a legacy that I, for one, will always respect. Unless, of course, Tony goes and sets up McMann, Tate and Blair Consulting, a Subsidiary of Halliburton.