Bowed & Bloodied Blair Beaten As Draconian Demands Are Dumped

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It's a picture no artist could paint; it's written all over Blair's face - as well as all over the wall.

They say every dog has it's day - and now it appears this particular poodle's had his.

When his first parliamentary defeat was announced, Mr Blair did not exhibit fury.

He just shook his head, apparently confused and irritated that his party had not bowed to his will.

At Prime Minister's Questions, Mr Blair had said: "Sometimes it is better to lose and do the right thing than to win and do the wrong thing."

Rebels on education and health reforms now intend to help him experience that losing feeling again.

And it couldn't possibly have happened to a more deserving man.

Mr Blair's personal offensive began in earnest on Monday.

He used his monthly press conference to deliver an irritable message that he was not going to bend, admonishing journalists and frequently losing his temper as his judgment was put in the spotlight.

Hmm. Who, we wonder, does all that remind everyone of ?

Here are a couple [or more] clues -- as if they were ever really needed -- he's a pretty close pal of the poodle and his name begins with the same letter. He also, is a serial liar and his hands drip with blood too. Could it possibly be that it's G.W.B.?

So where did it go so disastrously wrong for a Prime minister whose touch was once so sure?

The problems began last Wednesday when David Blunkett was forced to resign and Labour's majority was slashed to one vote on a less-contentious element of the Terrorism Bill.

With defeat on 90-day detention staring the Government in the face, a potentially crippling double blow to Mr Blair's credibility, the Home Secretary announced that the Government was ready to seek a cross-party consensus.

The vote was postponed.

The move bought Mr Blair some time, but very soon compromise was off the agenda.

He ordered his MPs to spend the weekend talking to their police chiefs, who originally proposed the 90-day detention period.

Controversially, pro forma emails had been issued for police chiefs to send out backing the plans.

Well, it's certain nobody can say he didn't do his best to bully all & sundry. The truth is, he did his darned damnedest and gave it his best shot -- but his best wasn't bloody good enough;in fact, it never was.

Here's more from today's Daily Mail.

Mr Blair blocked attempts to seek a compromise with the opposition parties and launched a hectoring campaign to convince the waverers, recruiting senior police officers to twist the arm of Labour backbenchers.

His fatal mistake was to defy advice from his whips that he would lose.

Mr Blair failed to realise that his majority is no longer large enough for bullying backbenchers.

As a lame-duck Prime Minister, he no longer has the power of patronage to win them over.

And a significant number of his MPs are no longer listening.

We say, it's about time our dear Tone took a hint. He should simply sod off soon, while the going's still reasonably good. From here on things can only get worse for him -- and for most of the rest of us.

Perhaps he could now return that recent Carlyle call, and tell them he'll take them up on their earlier offer -- since he'd almost certainly find he had more friends there, than he now has here at home.

Finally, for what it's worth and for the record, This Old Brit backed the winner. On all the online opinion polls, he voted for 28 days too.

Full Dail Mail article link follows; read it and rejoice.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles/news/news.html?in_article_id=368187&in_page_id=1770