Blair is more popular in USA than in UK

[ECH1969]

LONDON — At home, British Prime Minister Tony Blair is frequently caricatured as a poodle following President Bush's lead. His ratings are in the loo (toilet). Not so in the USA, where a USA TODAY/CNN/Gallup Poll shows 67% of Americans view Blair favorably.

Sixty-six percent say Blair would be a good secretary-general of the United Nations when he no longer is leading Great Britain.

The latest poll numbers coincide with a ringing endorsement of Blair from Bush on Monday at Kansas State University. Bush branded as unfair suggestions that Blair is a yes man for Bush's policies, particularly the Iraq war. Blair's "foreign policy has been pro-American, so naturally Americans would approve of that," says Roger Mortimore, political analyst at the MORI polling group.

In Britain, Blair's approval rating has averaged 34% since January 2003, according to Market & Opinion Research International (MORI), Britain's largest independent polling organization.

http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/2006-01-24-blair-us_x.htm
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Americans love Blair, but Brits hate him. Interesting.

[PDJane]

1. Well, of course.........

Brits are more independent and more prone to regard the rule of law. The kind of legislation that Bush has passed here is getting shot down in parliament there.

What they know is that he has fascist tendencies.

[rpannier]

2. He could come to the US and run for Gov of California

or Lt Gov. It could be Arnie and Tony in '06.

[Connie_Corleone]

3. It's the accent.

The accent makes him sound intelligent to us Americans compared to Bush's stumbling and stammering.

[tabasco]

4. UK still has a somewhat independent media.

We have nonstop corporate propaganda, so this news does not surprise me.

Why don't the libs in the UK shitcan his ass?? I thought after those last elections, Blair was looking weak.

Can't the UK libs find a new party leader?? :shrug:

[liberalpragmatist]

9. b/c he's the party leader...

... and ousting a party leader is not easy; plus, he still had decent support from many in his party and the overall public feeling towards him is ambivalent; people generally feel he's been a competent leader and while there is criticism of his domestic policies on both the left and the right, the broad majority largely agrees with him on domestic issues.

Plus, he's a lame duck anyway, as he's to handover power to Gordon Brown sometime this term.

As for "Libs" - it's not exactly the same party breakdown in the UK; Blair's party is the Labour Party. The "Libs" are the Liberal Democrats who are historically a free-market/socially-liberal party. Over the past few years, they've drifted to Blair's left but are still kind of an incoherent mix of opportunistic policies that attempt to straddle the center and take votes away from both the Conservatives and the left-wing of the Labour Party; as a third-party, it's extremely unlikely that they'll be able to win a majority, although the possibility has emerged from time to time for them to a coalition partner with either the Conservatives or Labour. That hasn't actually happened, although it might if in the next election Labour loses its majority.

* For the record, I'm not British; you should probably ask this question the UK country forum; the UK DU'ers are split between Labour supporters and Lib Dem supporters.

[tabasco]

12. Oh yes - I meant the Labour Party

Not the Lib Dems.

Just typing faster than thinking.

Blair has been such an ass. Public opinion was so massively against Iraq that I thought Blair had signed his pink slip. But he still hangs around. He's no dummy, but the Iraq war is so morally wrong I don't see how he lasted. Maybe the election hastened his retirement to Carlyle Group. I hate to see corrupt politicians getting ahead. It is frustrating to see both the US and UK stuck with such cynical, corrupt leadership. It's too bad the anti-war people in the Labour party can't get him out. I know there were a good many of them, including Galloway.

[marmar]

5. Well, I don't approve...

of Bush's partner in crime. He talks a good game but TB is full of shit.

[Geo55]

6. 34% since January 2003 uh ?

Bet that still beats our baby emporer over there.

[ECH1969]

7. Doubtful

Take the average of the polls * is stuck at about 40.

[Metta]

8. That's because they know the truth about him and we don't.

We only get the hype, mostly. Painfully obvious.

[Inland]

10. Well, he IS very flattering to America.

When cheerleading Bush, which is irritating, he always goes out of his way to flatter us with how wonderful and idealistic and in the right the US is. I like being flattered by someone so good at it. As they say, butter would freeze in his mouth.

[htuttle]

11. That's just cuz we think he's the smart one...

...that will keep Bush out of trouble.

Boy, were we wrong about him.

[leesa]

13. We have better propaganda! We win!

Blair is a dead man no matter what. He has lost his soul forever.

[daleo]

14. What owner doesn't like his poodle? n/t