British Elections

Nothing real surprising there, just figured that since I gave my 2¢ on potential outcomes, I oughta do a followup.

The elections turned out pretty much as expected. Tony Blair is still Prime Minister, albeit with a much slimmer party majority.

Random bits from the article:

...Conservative Party leader Michael Howard said he planned to step down because "I did not achieve what I set out to achieve." He said he would stay on until the party considers whether to change the rules governing the choice of his successor.

Can I take this at face value? I certainly wouldn't if an American politician said it. "I wanted to win, I didn't, the people have spoken, I'll retire after this." Is it as simple as that? If so, kudos to Mr. Howard. That's a lesson lost on American politicians- how to gracefully accept defeat. Or is that just Al Gore and John Kerry?

The battering Blair took over Iraq during the campaign suggested that any future British leader will probably be wary of backing Washington militarily in the face of hostile domestic opinion.

I certainly hope not. I am happy to count the U.K. as my country's closest and truest friend- constantly and consistently- over the last century. Kudos to Mr. Blair for doing what was right regardless of public opinion.

Reader's Digest a few months ago had an article about Bush and Blair- how they grew up in the footsteps of that great friendship between FDR and Churchill. How the alliance was continued between Reagan and Maggie Thatcher. And how America and Great Britain always, always go to bat for each other. There are a great many countries in the world that I am wary of, many more that I genuinely dislike. There are only three countries that I really admire- America, obviously; Israel, for putting up with endless terorism and refraining from turning the Middle East into a parking lot these last forty years; and the United Kingdom, for aforementioned reasons.

A politically weakened Blair... could find it difficult to persuade British voters to approve a proposed constitution for the European Union, which requires ratification by all member states.

You say that like it's a bad thing. I don't know his stance on this issue, but maybe he should tell them not to sacrifice their independence to the inContinent.

Gosh, look at the time. Gotta go to lunch. Anyway, that's what I think.