AND THEIR OTHER OPTIONS WERE...?:

Tories move to heal White House rift (Alec Russell in Washington and George Jones, 16/02/2006, Daily Telegraph)

The Tories will today seek to end an extraordinary rift with their natural allies in the White House with a staunch statement of support for President George W Bush over the need to stop Iran having a nuclear weapon.

At the start of a two-day visit to repair relations, Liam Fox, the Conservative defence spokesman, will tell a Washington think-tank that Britain remains America's "most reliable and effective ally". [...]

In the last few years Washington has been difficult terrain for the Tories. To the frustration of Democrats - and some Conservatives in Britain - the Republicans' respect for Tony Blair since the September 11 attacks has rivalled their affection for their more obvious soul-mates, Lady Thatcher and Winston Churchill.

The nadir of the Tories' standing in Washington came in 2004 when Karl Rove, President George W Bush's chief adviser, made clear Michael Howard would not be welcome in the White House after he attacked Mr Blair over Iraq.

Today, however, comes the rapprochement. First William Hague, the shadow foreign secretary, George Osborne, the shadow chancellor, and Dr Fox meet Mr Rove, known by wags as "Bush's brain".

Then they fan out across Washington to meet senior government officials and politicians from both parties.

Nile Gardiner, of the Heritage Foundation, said the visit was a signal that the Tories were "back in business after years in the wilderness".

He added: "There was lots of bad blood but there is a growing recognition in the White House that Blair's days are numbered. This symbolises the beginning of the end of the Blair era of dominance in Washington."

Should have sent I.D.S.--he's the only one with an intuitive grasp of compassionate conservatism.

Posted by Orrin Judd at February 15, 2006 8:25 PM