Dean's World

My righty friends will say he's a socialist creep and a leftist toady.

My lefty friends will say he's a sellout to the right.

Me? He's one of my heroes. He saw what was right, and did what was right no matter what the personal cost.

I have made sure to send Tony Blair a note saying "thank you." Thank you for opposing fascism. Thank you for being on the right side of human rights. Thank you for being on the right side of human progress. Thank you for opposing fascism, even when it was politically costly to you. Thank you for siding with people who might disagree with you on other issues. Thank you for, ultimately, recognizing what was the right thing to do, despite the closed-minded reactionaries of your country.

Thank you for choosing to take out the fascist in Baghdad, Mr. Blair. Your friendship, your trust, and your courage in this extraordinarily important moment in human history shall never be forgotten by this American.

Whatever quarrels I might have with his party, his countrymen, or even his nation, I will always be thankful that the world produced a Tony Blair.

And by the way, if you haven't seen this video yet, you should.

(link)

toddk (mail):

He is a leftist/statist, and that's a fact. :)

but..

He also did something that took great political courage.

And for that he deserves our thanks and respect.

11.25.2004 6:46pm

Farmer Joe (mail) (www):

I'll take post 9/11 Blair as a mixed bag. Not someone whose politics I generally agree with, but someone who did the right thing when it really mattered.

11.25.2004 8:20pm

Bryan C (mail) (www):

I disagree with Blair on many issues, some of them very important. But he's also a strong, principled, reasonable leader that I can respect. Tony Blair is an example of what the Democratic Party should be. And what they once were.

11.25.2004 10:12pm

Andrew Ian Dodge (mail) (www):

He did something very good with the war, but he is pissing away my goodwill towards him on a daily basis. One look at the Queen's speech of this week will show just how statist and fascistic this lot have become. Blunkett, his Home Secretary, makes Ashcroft seem like a libertarian.

11.26.2004 10:30am

Steven Malcolm Anderson (www):

HAIL TO THE QUEEN....!!!!

I don't like Tony Blair's statist domestic policies, and I'm sure I would like them much less if I was living there, but he is standing with us in the War Against the Terror Masters abroad. I admire Dean for admiring his for that. I admire the _style_ of Dean's passionate admiration for Tony Blair, which is the flip side of Dean's equally passionate condemnation of Lord Pork Pork, of Saddam, of Castro, of Kim Jong Il, which I also admire. Dean is a true liberal in the tradition of FDR during World War II, in the tradition of of William Gladstone, in the tradition even of Lord Byron, who died fighting for the freedom of the Greeks in that tragic 19th century rendition of the Persian Wars. Dean believes in freedom for all people, in human rights for all humans, in the face of all tyrants.

11.26.2004 11:26am

Mark Noonan (mail) (www):

He did the right thing when doing the wrong thing would have gotten him the appluase of the elite in his country. That is good enough for me; he'll always remain high in my estimation, regardless of what else happens.

11.26.2004 1:02pm

Yeah what about the tyrant called David Blunkett? Thank Blair for what he did supporting the war all you want but that does not mean he is a good man. He is fact a vile man who is doing a great deal of harm to all that is Great about the UK. Never mind the fact that if the UK goes into the EU whole hog like Blair wants it will never again be in a position to help the Americans.

11.26.2004 7:50pm

Jim Ausman (mail):

Blair is good principled man who has been a very good leader for his country.

I don't agree with many of his positions, but I respect his viewpoint on things and he has turned out to be wrong more often than he has been right.

11.27.2004 7:20pm