In an announcement that can only induce in Americans a strong feeling of Anglo-envy, Tony Blair said today that he would step down on June 27th. Would that it were so for George W. Bush and his quail-hunting sidekick.
“I ask you to accept one thing. Hand on heart, I did what I thought was right. I may have been wrong. That’s your call. But believe one thing: I did what I thought was right for our country.”
He spoke in pensive and sometimes emotional tones, acknowledging that his narrative had not all been woven of successes — even offering an unusual apology for his failings. “This is the greatest nation on earth,” he said. “It has been an honor to serve it. I give my thanks to you, the British people, for the times I have succeeded, and my apologies to you for the times I have fallen short.”
It’s doubtful that this could come at a worse time for our fearless leader. The newspapers are filled with reports of a palace revolt by moderate Republicans.
Participants in the Tuesday meeting between Mr. Bush, senior administration officials and 11 members of a moderate bloc of House Republicans said the lawmakers were unusually candid with the president, telling him that public support for the war was crumbling in their swing districts.
One told Mr. Bush that voters back home favored a withdrawal even if it meant the war was judged a loss. Representative Tom Davis told Mr. Bush that the president’s approval rating was at 5 percent in one section of his northern Virginia district.
Perhaps sensing the moment, Tony Snow felt compelled to dispel the obvious comparison.
Snow, who sat in on the meeting in the president’s private quarters, said it should not be overdramatized or seen as another “marching up to Nixon,” a reference to the critical moment during Watergate in 1974 when key congressional Republicans went to the White House to tell President Richard M. Nixon that it was time to resign.
“This is not one of those great cresting moments when party discontents are coming in to read the president the riot act,” he said. But Snow acknowledged that the meeting included some blunt, if respectful, discussion.
Of course, the spectacle of Blair announcing his resignation only adds to the feeling that Bush should do the same.
The Democrats have all the momentum today. Today they vote on the House supplemental bill. Let’s hope we don’t see any blank check Democrats…or, at least, let’s hope they do not prevail.
As our opponent teeters, this is no time to send them a lifeline.
