Tony Blair’s advice for the new American President

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• Virginia result in the election could be pivotal: “If Obama wins Virginia by a decisive margin, it’s a pretty strong suggestion he’s going to win the election,” Schoen said. “If McCain wins by more than a few points that could suggest movement toward him.”
• Gordon Brown echoes Tony Blair’s thinking on this. No? Fancy that!

Comment at end

3rd November, 2008

Blair: U.S. must lead, not hide (source here)

As always, and rightly, Mr Blair does NOT express support for either McCain or Obama. In a recent visit to Richmond, Virginia, USA his words in this article below, are as far as the eventual outcome is concerned non-committal, as is to be expected. But they may clearly indicate his thoughts on America’s place in the world at this time of economic and political change. He has never once in his political career moved from the position that America needs to remain a strong world leader. The same words and phrases surface as often before – “values”, “global problems such as terrorism, climate change, economic meltdown”, “global alliances”, “lead”, “USA must not close itself off”, “difficult decisions”, “solving the Palestinian problem”, “empowering moderate voices of Islam”.

Reading between the lines is always tempting. I won’t be tempted today, the day before America goes to the polls.

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FORMER BRITISH PRIME MINISTER SAYS – WHOEVER WINS PRESIDENCY MUST BE ABLE TO LISTEN AS WELL

By KARIN KAPSIDELIS, TIMES-DISPATCH STAFF WRITER

Sunday, Nov 02, 2008 – 12:08 AM Updated: 12:43 AM

Global alliances based on the values of freedom and justice are necessary to solve the immense challenges the world faces, former British Prime Minister Tony Blair said last night.

“Our values — yours and mine — can shape the world” for the 21st century, Blair told the audience at The Richmond Forum.

“We can lead such an alliance,” he said, “but only by persuasion, not by imposition.”

Blair said this is not the time for the United States to close itself off from the world and worry about problems at home, because those problems are global.

Obama meeting Blair in London, 26th July 2008

“Don’t stop leading. People expect America to lead,” he said. “It’s important to lead and to listen.”

Finding that balance will be important for the next U.S. president, he said.

But Blair declined to endorse a candidate, saying he knows both presidential contenders and they are “two fine people.”

“I think you’re going to have to make up your minds unaided by me,” he said during a question-and-answer session moderated by former Gov. Gerald L. Baliles.

Whoever is elected will face difficult decisions that are necessary for him to be an effective, if not popular, president, Blair said.

Blair said he faced that same issue while he served as the United Kingdom’s prime minister from 1997 to 2007.

While Blair saw his popularity plummet at home because of his support of the war in Iraq, his rating in Richmond remains high. He was the forum’s most requested speaker for this season.

He spoke to a sold-out, enthusiastic crowd at the Landmark Theater.

Blair is now the envoy for the Middle East Quartet, a group representing the United Nations, European Union, United States and Russia.

Solving the Palestinian problem, he said, is important to solving the problem of terrorism because it would empower the moderate voices of Islam.

The problems of terrorism, climate change and the economic meltdown are global in nature, he said.

Blair said there’s a tendency for people to view globalism as a problem that has been created by governments, but that is not the case.

“Globalism is essentially driven by people,” he said. “It’s driven by you and by me.”

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The George Bush “twilight zone”. He will soon be free. What will he do with his last 2 months in power?

“We are about to enter the twilight zone, that strange black hole in political time and space that appears no more than once every four years. It is known as the period of transition, and it starts a week from today, the time when the United States has not one president but two. One will be the president-elect, the other George Bush, in power for 12 more weeks in which he can do pretty much whatever he likes. Not only will he never again have to face voters, he won’t even have to worry about damaging the prospects of his own party and its standard bearer (as if he has not damaged those enough already). From November 5 to January 20, he will exercise the freest, most unaccountable form of power the democratic world has to offer.”

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Israeli security chief warns of assassination

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Tags: 1. Tony Blair, America must lead ad listen, American president must lead and listen, Former British Prime Minister Blair on American preside, Landmark Theater, Richmond Virginia