the odd couple:
Andrew Sullivan produces a good piece on the close relationship between President Bush and Prime Minister Blair, entitled “The Odd Couple.” Especially interesting are Sullivan’s views on what the relationship means for the PM and the UK. “It has vaulted the British prime minister into the position of being the most influential global actor after the American president. This means he has unequalled clout with the president, but it also means he has unusually large influence with other world leaders. In Blair’s dealings abroad, from outreach to Russia and Pakistan and France, Blair speaks with far greater impact because of his tightness with Washington.”
Sullivan’s conclusion is particularly flattering: “Perhaps it’s his Christian faith, shared with Bush, that acknowledges that there are times when evil cannot be appeased, ignored or simply forgotten, but must be confronted. But both men clearly hold that there are times when political leaders must do things simply because they are the right and moral thing to do, that there are moments when conscience matters, in fact, when conscience is the only thing that matters. This core conviction, a bedrock for both men’s different faiths and divergent politics, is what will keep them together in the coming difficult and dark months. The forging of a new and potent Anglo-American relationship for the next century could well be the result.”
*emphasis added
