September 3, 2004
WITH OR AGAINST?:
Snubbing the Tories: George W. Bush lets Michael Howard know that he doesn't appreciate the Tory leader's opportunism on Iraq. (Gerard Baker, 09/03/2004, Weekly Standard)
[T]he Bushies surely have a point.Trailing in British public opinion polls, Howard has been behaving in ways that look at best cynical, at worst, Kerryesque. When the House of Commons voted to authorize the Iraq war in March 2003, the then Tory number two was an enthusiastic backer. As the British public soured on the war in the ensuing months, Howard backpedaled furiously.
When a storm erupted over whether Blair misused intelligence on Iraqi WMDs to justify the war, Howard went into overdrive, accusing the prime minister (and by implication, the president) of lying.
When Blair was cleared of the charge of lying by no fewer than four inquiries, Howard refused to back down, and instead switched tactics, telling a British newspaper in July that if he had known then what he knows now he would not have voted for the use of force. He quickly went on to say, however, that he still thought the war was justified. Sound familiar? John Kerry couldn't have put it better.
The truth is the Tories have been opportunists about Iraq. They backed the war and lauded the efforts of British and American troops when it was going well, but since then have exploited every opportunity to undermine Bush's and Blair's defense of the war.
And there was something slightly unsettling about the way the Tories handled the Bush snub story. Howard seemed only too pleased to confirm it and issue a somber and courageous warning that no foreign power would stop him telling the truth.
Hard not to notice that the President's biggest applause line last night was just two words long: "Tony Blair" Posted by Orrin Judd at September 3, 2004 8:17 PM
Tony Blair is a Socialist, but by God, he's OUR Socialist!
Posted by: Joe at September 3, 2004 9:35 PMPerhaps a bit off topic, but I thought it important that the President recognized some of our allies and their leaders by name. This was obviously so with Tony Blair. But Bush also mentioned Australia and John (the other) Howard. Howard is running for reelection. In that sense, Australia is a swing state, like Oregon, Iowa, and Pennsylvania (mentioned in Pataki's speech preceeding Bush's). Bush said we don't forget our allies, and the Blair/Howard references prove it. I loved it when Bush mentioned El Salvador. Those living in the Eastern Standard Time zone (you know who you are) might be unaware that there are many Salvadorian immigrants in California and the West. Hearing their country mentioned by the President will probably swell voting for Bush to 90%. Salvadorians are really proud of their soldiers in Iraq. You might remember that a Salvadorian soldier ran out of ammo in a firefight (Falluja?), then charged nine fedayeen with only a bayonet, putting them all to flight. That guy is a national hero in El Salvador.
Posted by: Fred Jacobsen (San Fran) at September 3, 2004 10:12 PMFred:
I'm pretty sure the version I'd read had it as not even a bayonet, but a switchblade.
There was a bayonet charge by a British unit...
Posted by: mike earl at September 3, 2004 11:38 PMEmulating Schroder's strategy in Germany doesn't seem to be the smartest long-term plam in the world for Howard, especially with all the prolems the German leader is running into now with no fallback position. But like a lot of politicians, including the one running for president with the "D" next to his name, Howard apparently thinks its OK to say whatever he think with drive the poll numbers up to get elected, and then worry about the consequences of his actions later.
Posted by: John at September 4, 2004 12:51 AMHoward has a major problem. What does the Conservative party stand for? Thatcher never got more than 43% of the vote, and that was after defending its imperialist land grab in the Malvinas. Blair is if anything less of a statist than most Tories. There is no religious right to speak of in Britain, less than 2% of Brits are born-again Christians compared with 25-30% of Americans. On foreign affairs, the Conservatives are hopelessly shredded. Some Colonel Blimp types think there is still an empire and that Britain is the equal of the US, China, Japan and Russia. Some conservatives, who've obviously spent too many summers in the Cote d'Azur or in the Tuscan highlands and consumed too much of the wonderful local wines, are pathological Europhiles who either ignore or don't appreciate the vast cultural gulf between Britain and the Continent. Philip II of Spain, of Spanish Armada fame, derided England as a 'nation of shopkeepers' back in the 1580s. Some others believe Americans are uncouth mongrelized barbarians no better than the Soviet Union. The Old Etonian, John Le Carre', falls into this category,as do many of the Humphrey Appleby types in the permanent civil service.
What can Michael Howard, a deracinated Romanian Jew from Cardiff, do to unite such a fractious bunch of delusional goofballs, let alone appeal to ordinary Brits?
Posted by: Bart at September 4, 2004 11:11 AMBart, your ignorance is only matched by your stupidity.
Posted by: Chris Goodman at November 23, 2004 8:44 AM