Tony Blair at 30% Approval
This is what Blair gets for being Bush's lapdog.
Now, in interviews along these same streets, many people repeatedly complain that Blair's time has passed.
"A lot of people don't trust him," said John Hulbert, 70, a taxi driver and Labor supporter who lives on Barnsbury Street with his wife, Jean, a retired teacher. "You couldn't walk into a pub and talk about Blair -- they would throw you out."
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It is Blair's passionate -- some say disastrously stubborn -- leadership on Iraq that is the one issue that continues to weigh him down. There is a widespread perception that the prime minister exaggerated, or even fabricated, the dangers of weapons of mass destruction in taking the country to a war that has no end in sight.
"Iraq is a total disgrace," Budimlija said. "Sadly, it has cast a big black shadow over the closing days of his being prime minister."
Blair has vigorously defended Britain's troop presence in Iraq and Afghanistan as a noble struggle to sow democracy. In a speech in Australia three weeks ago, he said: "I know the Iraq war split this nation as it did mine. And I have never disrespected those who disagreed with me over it."
His cozy relationship with Bush, who is extremely unpopular here, is seen by many as detrimental to British interests. Perhaps as a nod to that, Blair recently said: "I do not always agree with the U.S. Sometimes they can be difficult friends to have."
It's a little too late for Blair to try and distance himself from Bush at this point, methinks.
ETA: On the plus side, Tony says he won't back Iran strike. So there's always that.
Now, in interviews along these same streets, many people repeatedly complain that Blair's time has passed.
"A lot of people don't trust him," said John Hulbert, 70, a taxi driver and Labor supporter who lives on Barnsbury Street with his wife, Jean, a retired teacher. "You couldn't walk into a pub and talk about Blair -- they would throw you out."
More:
It is Blair's passionate -- some say disastrously stubborn -- leadership on Iraq that is the one issue that continues to weigh him down. There is a widespread perception that the prime minister exaggerated, or even fabricated, the dangers of weapons of mass destruction in taking the country to a war that has no end in sight.
"Iraq is a total disgrace," Budimlija said. "Sadly, it has cast a big black shadow over the closing days of his being prime minister."
Blair has vigorously defended Britain's troop presence in Iraq and Afghanistan as a noble struggle to sow democracy. In a speech in Australia three weeks ago, he said: "I know the Iraq war split this nation as it did mine. And I have never disrespected those who disagreed with me over it."
His cozy relationship with Bush, who is extremely unpopular here, is seen by many as detrimental to British interests. Perhaps as a nod to that, Blair recently said: "I do not always agree with the U.S. Sometimes they can be difficult friends to have."
It's a little too late for Blair to try and distance himself from Bush at this point, methinks.
ETA: On the plus side, Tony says he won't back Iran strike. So there's always that.