How Blair Is Faring Now

by Mary

Tony Blair's troubles have been well-aired for the past few months, yet he came out of the Labor Party convention with renewed support from those that attended and his speech received a standing ovation. Blair defied those who questioned his decision and forcefully stated that he would do the same again.

However, whatever the party decides isn't necessarily something that the British public will support and there are a number of signs that Blair and his senior administrators aren't necessarily out of hot water yet.

From the emails flooding into the BBC during the speech it was evident that those watching across the country were less easily impressed than the delegates who leapt to their feet. This conclusion is supported by a wealth of opinion poll evidence that has emerged over the last few days, including the suggestion that 59% of voters now think Blair lied about Iraq. His party may always be prepared to give him one more chance, but I doubt if the British people will turn out to be so indulgent. So far the damage inflicted by the Iraq crisis has been limited to Blair and his inner circle. If the Labour party refuses to hold him to account for his errors, it too will be grievously tainted, and with potentially devastating electoral consequences.

Now that the Hutton inquiry has finished with its gathering of evidence, the media spotlight on Blair and his government will lessen. Yet, Blair is not out of the woods unless he is exonerated when the report is published (due by December).

Here are some articles that do a good job of summarizing the Hutton inquiry for now:

The Hutton Inquiry: The conclusions does a very good job of reviewing the various threads covered in the inquiry and the effect on those involved. It covers why the dossier was so wrong, how Campbell's obsession hurt the government, the fallout to the BBC, a critique of how the civil service treated Dr. Kelly and finally, some thoughts about why Dr. Kelly killed himself.

10 ways to sex up a dossier summarizes how the changes to the dossier were intended to make the case for war by making the threat seem imminent.

Passive Deceit and the Death of David Kelly covers the betrayal of public trust by using misinformation to deceive the public about the need for a war.

Much like the propaganda from the Bush White House where the justification for war was driven by conjoining Saddam and 9/11, in the UK, the government sold the public on the idea there was an imminent threat to the people of Great Britain. Both Blair and Bush excuse their lies by saying the ends justify the means and both believe that as "leaders" they don't have to listen to others. And now both have been unmasked by their vindictiveness towards those who dared to expose their lies.

We will see if the USA can hold an inquiry that is as honest and open as what we saw run by Sir Hutton.