Downhill from Here

ADAM BUTLER/AP

THE THRILL IS GONE: Buffeted by domestic and foreign-policy troubles, Blair's best days may be behind him

This Is Blair's Darkest Hour, shouts one headline. Leak Reveals Dithering PM Is Out Of Touch, says another, while a third is more succinct: The Embattled Mr. Blair. But only the last one was printed during the most recent of Tony Blair's many crises. The others ran even before the British Prime Minister led his party to a second landslide victory in the 2001 election. Blair can always take comfort that whatever consumes the political class in Westminster — like the current flap over his arrogant announcement, in a press release and without prior consultation, that he planned to eliminate the...

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