W was a class act, all the way though, even with all of the hate and idiocy directed towards him. Hopefully someday soon the US will elect a decisive leader, with integrity, class, and character.

I believe history will smile on GWB. The media is responsible for casting him in an almost perpetual bad light during his presidency. That's why their credibility is gone.

Well, the ghastly irony is that political sycophants and the mentally ill (along with the terminally wealthy, the too-old-to-be-conscious and the too-young-to-have-a-clue) are a massive percentage of America's body politic; to wit, Democrat voters.

As for GWB, all informed and rational adults would agree with Blair on his major thesis. The other point to be made is that GWB politically speaking did far more for conservatives than that for which many if not most conservatives give him credit.

George Bush and Dick Cheney might not have been ranked among this country's greatest presidents and vice presidents. But they are my favorites. I became very fond of them and their wives. Al four of them are real class acts - in stark contrasts to the Bidens and the Obamas, who should be an embarrassment to all thinking Americans.

I don't know how this book was about Obama, Nevertheless. from a British conservative review, of 'The Daily Telegraph'.

He (Blair) still feels "anguish" about the Iraq war and says that he had never guessed "the nightmare" that would unfold after he took the decision to commit British troops to the American-led invasion.

Mr Blair also indicates that he is still haunted by his actions, and vows to try to "redeem" something from the tragedy. He says he will dedicate "a large part of the life left to me," to working for peace in the region.

He also discloses how American hawks, particularly Dick Cheney, the then US vice-president, were apparently keen to invade other countries in the Middle East, including Syria.

Class act that Cheney. How many more Middle East countries was the other 'other priorities' Cheney keen to invade, I wonder? Over one million innocent Iraqis have died becasue of "the nightmare" following that invasion. Syria, terrific? Imagine if Cheney had been president?

Who would be surprised if, while talking with the leaders of Irag condescendingly this week, that ditzy putz, Joe Biden, screws up everything that the Bush Administration accomplished in Iraq over the past seven years?

I'm serious.

If ditzy Joe was our ambassador to Guam, the people of Guam would implore Japan to invade them again.

I am not surprised at the libeal Blair repecting and liking GW. He knew and knows what the real facts are and what challenges we and they faced. Only liberals like Crickmore think if they do not think it it isn't true.

GW will be looked on in the history of this nation as an unwaivering leader. One who did not play the political game well when it involved the troops. To the frustration of many conservatives myself included. He didn't want to politicize the wars and he didn't. One great man I had the good fortune of voting for four times. Except for immigration and the wreckless spending, he and I were on the same page. He is a great man. ww

Tony Blair, you are now on the left's shit list! How dare you say all those positive things about George Bush that does not fit the left's meme. Don't you know that these personal chararacteristics are deemed to belong solely to "Hope and Change"!

"Imagine if Cheney had been president?" - Steve

Actually, Steve, in recent months, I have had that fantasy. :)

Bush a "true idealist" with "genuine integrity"

Steve, you really don't know the dynamics of why we invaded Iraq, do you?

All that you know is the disingenuous spin that ignorant, far leftist, extremist loonies put on it. Screwy assumptions, even screwier conjectures and extremely irresponsible accusations - NONE of which are supported by the facts. You deal strictly in bullshit, no substance, no facts.

You're so clueless on a whole variety of issues, and you're uneducated, and you're uninformed, and all that you know is revisionist history that you contrived yourself or that you heard from other ignorant loonies, revisionist history that reinforces your delusions and your biases, and yet you come here trashing the motives of Republicans.

I usually cut you slack, because I feel sorry for you. But you try even my patience sometimes.

SPQR. I know way we invaded Iraq, we were told enough times repeatably by Tony Blair, Dick Cheney and George Bush of Saddam's Hussein`s connection to al-Qaeda and his weapons of mass destruction. I`m not sure how that bolster's your case?

Crockmore-

"Over one million innocent Iraqis have died becasue of "the nightmare" following that invasion"

I know not how you know 1 million Iraqi's killed were innocent but even at that rate its about half the rate at which Saddam extinguished them so we actually saved 1 million alledged innocent Iraqi's by fulfilling the UN requirements.

It wasn't about WMD's, Steve, and the bigger picture was that, to a large extent, it wasn't about Al Queda either ..., and BTW, you're misinformed with respect to our intentions with Syria, also.

It's as I suspected. You don't know squat about this country's objectives.

Steve, we've been over this a zillion times. Go and read the Authorization for the Use of Military Force In Iraq, passed with plenty of Democratic votes. Hillary voted for it, and I think Joe Biden did, too. There were plenty of reasons spelled out there, and "ZOMG! Saddam might give his WMDs to his buddy Osama!" didn't make the cut.

J.

It's funny, the 'intellectual elites' on the left call those who actually bother to look at and understand the historical record 'stupid' and uneducated. Guess it takes a particular type of high-level education to ignore incovenient facts and history that doesn't match their talking points!

Then again, maybe their 'reality-based' thinking doesn't bear much resemblance to actual reality...

Yes Jay, I think we are all weary of this. Sure the Democrats were victims of groupthink and the fear they would be thought weak, as future Presidential candidates, if they didn't go along with the administration. But the Bush administration over-hyped the intelligence for their case, and ruled out the caveats. As David Corn says that 80-90% of the argument was the wmd reason and particularly nuclear weapons for example, Condi Rice "the mushroom cloud". The second biggest reason was as Corn writes,

"On Nov. 7, 2002, Bush said Saddam "is a threat because he's dealing with al-Qaeda."

"On Nov. 7, 2002, Bush said Saddam "is a threat because he's dealing with al-Qaeda."

Do you have evidence to the contrary?

By the way, funding Hamas = just as bad as dealing with al qaeda. They both have the same objective, kill the joos, kill the big satan and kill the infidel.

Washington Post.

Captured Iraqi documents and intelligence interrogations of Saddam Hussein and two former aides "all confirmed" that Hussein's regime was not directly cooperating with al-Qaeda before the U.S. invasion of Iraq, according to a declassified Defense Department report released yesterday.

No, not directly. Indirectly. Same damn thing.

I love it.

Steve Crickmore gets his ass handed to him about "Saddam's WMD" legend, so he immediately shifts the goalposts to "Saddam was working with terrorists" legend.

I grow weary of the moving goalposts.

In the meantime, George W. Bush still has a ton more integrity and political courage in his little finger than Obama has in his entire empty suit.

steve crickmore: "Sure the Democrats were victims ....."

Perfect.

Pitch perfect.

Only a mentally retarded sycophant could ever hold this view of Bush.

#23;

Ah, yes - the personal attack mode of the mentally retarded liberal.

So, warchild, how do YOU hold in high regard?

(I do not expect from a mentally retarded liberal sycophant such as yourself.)