Year: 2004

There’s one job that definitely won’t be outsourced.

By the way, is she giving someone the finger?

Today I read the story about the UK redeploying troops from Basra to Bagdad. I was reminded of the unique friendship we have in Tony Blair.

In 1997, when Blair became Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, much was made of the similarities between him and Bill Clinton. Two young liberal leaders walking side by side. In many ways, Clinton took him on as a protege. After all, Bill had already been in office for a few years, and he could give Blair pointers on style and substance. For awhile, it seems as though Blair was taking him up on his offer. They were two peas in a pod. Brothers, one older than the other, leading two of the worlds superpowers. As the Clinton presidency came to a close, many thought that Al Gore would easily take the place held by his boss. Blair and Gore were even closer in age and it would be easy for the two to appear “close” given the partnership made earlier with Clinton. Something was different though – there didn’t seem to be that natural glue between Gore and Blair. One could say that a sort of built-in distance existed between the two. When George W. Bush was elected the 43rd president of the United States, the media posed the question – what is to come of the relationship between the US and Britain? The conventional wisdom was that Bush could never form a partnership with Blair that would come anywhere close to the “brotherhood” he shared with Clinton, and in the first few months of the Bush presidency, it was hard to tell what kind of partnership the two would have.

Then came 9/11.

On that single day the relationship between Washington and London changed. On that single day, the alliance between Washington and London solidified. One could say that prior to 9/11, the US/UK posture was “superficial”. A photo-op friendship. A public partnership built upon media portrayals of two young men with open shirt collars. In the post 9/11 world, the picture was transformed. Blair, a former Clinton “mini-me”, was moved by the terror event. He became a real brother, not only to Bush, but to every American. Blair is the brother that won’t stand down. He’s the brother that will help protect and uphold the freedom of democracy. He’s shown that he is willing to sacrifice his own hold on power, his own legacy for America.

Prior to 9/11, I didn’t have a lot of respect for Tony Blair. But that day erased the past in an instant. Bush grew up, stepped up, and found he had a “brother” in Tony Blair. He is America’s true ally.

Zogby gives Bush a 47 to 45 lead over Kerry in today’s tracking poll.

Krauthammer knows what Kerry means when he says he wants to “rebuild our alliances.”

Be verwy verwy qwiet. I’m hunting wabbits.

Laura Bush blows off remark from Teresa Heinz Kerry.

Asked about Heinz Kerry’s apology Wednesday for what she said, Bush responded, “It didn’t matter to me. It didn’t hurt my feelings. It was perfectly all right that she apologized. She didn’t have to apologize. I know how tough it is. And actually I know those trick questions.”

Now THAT’S a First Lady!

Kerry’s election day strategy? 10,000 lawyers enlisted for battleground states. Six “SWAT” teams of political operatives situated across the country in fueled up jets awaiting orders to fly to contested states to mount legal fights.

“While the lawyers litigate, political operatives will try to shape public perception. Their goal would be to persuade voters that Kerry has the best claim to the presidency and that Republicans are trying to steal it. Democrats are already laying the public relations groundwork by pointing to every possible voting irregularity before the Nov. 2 election and accusing Republicans of wrongdoing.”

Read the full Fournier treatment here.

Bill Clinton wants to head the U.N. As much as I hate to admit it, the folks at Outside the Beltway have got it right.

Michelle Malkin has pictures of John Kerry and his little hunting trip today in western Ohio. This is yet another example of the Kerry campaign playing the electorate for fools. What, are we supposed to believe that Kerry is taking a break from campaigning so he can get a little rest and relaxation baggin geese? With less than 2 weeks until the election? Pppfffftttthhhh.

The Tampa Tribune decides to sit out the endorsement game this cycle. Their editorial board is so conflicted that they decided to publish an endorsement endorsing nobody (although they spend the majority of the print space slamming Bush).

So what? As I’ve said before in this blog, newspaper endorsements serve no purpose anymore. They’ve become extinct in their effectiveness due in large part to the age of 24/7 TV news, the Internet, and most importantly, BLOGS. We’ll see less attention being paid to print endorsements in 2008, and by 2012 (mark my words), they will be gone.