Tony Blair's relationship with the USA
17 May 2007: Tony Blair and George W Bush reassert the strong links between the United States and Britain:
The BBC reported how Tony Blair on a final trip to Washington as Prime Minister was treated to a joke at a press conference by George W Bush.
Mr Blair, Bush said, "is a good friend. He has led the British people for a long time, since 1797".
The deliberate mistake mirrored Bush's slip when introducing the Queen earlier in the month, in which he accidentally said she had previously visited in 1776.
27 January 2005: The Prime Minister's speech at the World Economic Forum at Davos:
Here is an extract from Tony Blair's speech at the World Economic Forum. Apologies for the poor quality of the image. The extract is reproduced from the official fax. This speech was given just after Bush's inauguration speech after his re-election.
Tony Blair and the USA: amusing extracts from 1997
Office of the Press Secretary
For Immediate Release - December 4,1997
PRESS BRIEFING BY
MIKE MCCURRY
The Briefing Room 1:34 P.M. EST
MR. MCCURRY: This just in from the United Kingdom. This is important news, courtesy of Irv Molotzky of The New York Times who gave it to me. There's been a new tradition established in the British Parliament, and heretofore, members of the press lobby in the mother of parliaments were always briefed by an unnamed source, a government source or a Whitehall source, when the Prime Minister's press secretary briefed members of the press. And that tradition is changing, courtesy of Mr. Alastair Campbell, who is Tony Blair's chief press secretary and a rather good press secretary. But he will now be briefing reporters as "the Prime Minister's official spokesman." And he notes in The Guardian article that he will not be personally named because he does not want to become a public figure in the way that his White House counterpart has become a public figure. (Laughter.) "It would be wrong to build up an unelected figure," Mr. Campbell said. The important person in the equation is the Prime Minister. It's not the unelected spokesman -- to which I say, hear, hear. (Laughter.) So heretofore, I will brief as "Unnamed White House spokesman." So C-SPAN, a note to you, I'm briefing now on camera -- that little line down there should say "unnamed White House spokesman.
Q Bring back the paper bag.
Q I thought only the State Department did that.
MR. MCCURRY: Either that or he could -- actually, he could brief as the Britain Mike McCurry, as long as I am referred to as the U.S. Alastair Campbell.
Q But he speaks only on background, and does he also brief American reporters? Because there once was a period where they would not allow --
MR. MCCURRY: There was a period in which only registered members of the lobby were ushered into the secret room.
Q That's still the case.
MR. MCCURRY: And that still is the case. I think you still have to be a member of the lobby.
Q You have to be part of the lobbying system, really -- you can't admit exists.
MR. MCCURRY: That's right. You couldn't admit it existed until now. You can now admit that such a lobby exists.
Q Is there a secret handshake there, too?
MR. MCCURRY: Could very well be.
Q Do you have an answer for him that we can write?
MR. MCCURRY: I applaud his movement towards attributability and I admire his anonymity. (Laughter.) Q Baloney.
MR. MCCURRY: And I'll think about instituting the same. There are days here I certainly would prefer -- probably would profit from being unnamed White House spokesman.
Q You could try that bag again. (Laughter.)
MR. MCCURRY: Try the bag again.
From USA Today, December 4, 1997:
LONDON - On his first visit to a capital that has long held his attention as a historian, House Speaker Newt Gingrich, R-Ga., found Wednesday that few Britons recognize him, Big Ben makes his eyes pop wide and Question Time at the House of Commons makes U.S. congressional proceedings seem tame.
'Every American should make this trip," Gingrich said. "They'll never be the same.'
As he walked at a quick pace to Parliament, Gingrich, 54, expounded on British history and American democracy. 'Everything here,' he said, 'from the Magna Carta to (Winston Churchill's) War Rooms, are constant reminders of the historical roots of our freedom.'
Better that than reminders of Gingrich's stateside woes. He is still trying to repair his image after ethics violations. He was reprimanded and fined $300,000 in January for using tax-deductible contributions to promote partisan goals through a college course he taught.
The speaker brushed off speculation of a presidential run in 2000. 'That's a long way off,' he said. Ever the ex-professor, he steered conversation toward the topic of conservatives like former prime minister Margaret Thatcher and former president Ronald Reagan, and the legacy they left for liberals like Prime Minister Tony Blair.
Blair 'has done an important job redirecting his party (but) in the end, he stands in the framework of Margaret Thatcher,' he said, 'and we all stand on the shoulders of Reagan and Thatcher.'
Gingrich said the United States and Britain are moving 'in the same direction, with more privatization, deregulation and a commitment to balance the budget.' Gingrich said he hopes to discuss with President Clinton next week 'what we can learn from what's happening here.'
Certainly not much from Question Time. Once a week for 30 minutes, Blair must face shouted questions from members of parliament. No one gets very far without hissing and grumbling from the gallery.
Not even Gingrich's counterpart, the speaker. At one particularly raucous point, Betty Boothroyd broke her silence and bellowed, 'Order in this house, some order!' After a second of silence, everyone started braying. A smile crossed Gingrich's face".
The following is a large excerpt from the Presidential Vacation Press Briefing made on September 3, 1997 by Joe Lockhart, the senior advisor for Special Projects, Office of the President.
It is included in a continouous stream because I think it's generally amusing. The bit most pertinent to Blair is right at the end. But it would be a shame to skip the rest.
QUESTION: Joe, on another subject -- anything more on who might accompany the First Lady on Friday on her trip to London?
LOCKHART: No, I don't know. And I expect that we might get some more logistical information released out of the First Lady's Office maybe later today, maybe tomorrow.
On that front, I went back over the transcript yesterday and I even confused myself on the whole issue of official versus unofficial. Let me take another crack at it here; I think I left some people confused.
The First Lady certainly -- this is an official trip for her. She's going as the First Lady, and it's an official trip for her. The invitation that came to her was certainly the official invitation of the people issuing the invitations. The one point that I was trying to make yesterday was that the family -- the Spencer family and the Royal family are issuing the invitations not necessarily on the basis of official positions, but on people with special personal associations. So that was the distinction I was trying to draw. I think I did it much to widely. But it's certainly, from our point of view, she's going over there on an official -- this is not a personal visit for her.
QUESTION: Is there an official delegation, a state delegation going?
QUESTION: -- a murky issue. Is she representing the government of the United States, or not?
LOCKHART: Yes, she's going, and she will represent the government.
QUESTION: The government of the United States?
LOCKHART: Yes.
QUESTION: So, in other words, you were -- you stated your position incorrectly yesterday, not merely --
LOCKHART: Yes. Well, in that sense. And what I thought I did was, was when I came back the second time I thought I had cleared it up.
QUESTION: But it's not a state delegation?
LOCKHART: That is correct. It is not a delegation, in fact; it is --
QUESTION: Explain the difference, then. She is representing the government, but it's not a state delegation -- just define that for me.
LOCKHART: Because it's not a state funeral.
QUESTION: And it was Buckingham Palace's and the Spencer family's decision not to invite the President? Is that --
LOCKHART: Yes. In consultation, they felt that it was most appropriate for the First Lady.
QUESTION: So it's basically -- the difference is between a state visit and an official visit.
LOCKHART: Yes.
QUESTION: Any more on what she's likely to do there, who she'll see, if anyone?
LOCKHART: No, I don't have anything more. Again, I hope to get some logistical information. It will be released out of the First Lady's Office in Washington, but as soon as they're ready to release it, they'll get it up to us.
QUESTION: Will she come back here and join the President?
LOCKHART: I don't know.
QUESTION: Do you know what time he might leave on Sunday?
LOCKHART: No.
QUESTION: Is Chelsea staying until Sunday?
LOCKHART: As far as I know, yes. I haven't heard anything to the contrary.
QUESTION: Joe, on another subject, does the White House know that some of the so-called "soft money" that Al Gore's phone calls actually turned out to be hard money?
LOCKHART: I'm not aware that was something -- I mean, certainly I wasn't aware of any of that, and I think that the best place to go for that is the DNC, and also to either Lorraine or Ginny in the Vice President's Office.
QUESTION: As a practical matter, did you know that it's standard operating procedure for them to max out the soft money and make it hard money up to $20,000 and then use whatever is left over as soft money?
LOCKHART: I'm not aware. I certainly wasn't aware of that, but -- and I'm not sure. Again, you should check with the Vice President's Office -- put that question to them.
QUESTION: With the Congress back, can you update us on the White House efforts to get William Weld confirmed?
LOCKHART: Yes. He's doing a series of one-on-one meetings with senators. He was in the -- came by the White House last night, met with some of the President's advisors to talk about where it was. And we hope he can make some headway this week via these one-on-one meetings.
QUESTION: Who did he meet with at the White House?
LOCKHART: I know John Podesta was there; I'm not sure who else..
QUESTION: There's no one-on-one with Senator Helms, is there?
LOCKHART: Not that I'm aware of.
QUESTION: Is the White House trying to arrange for such a meeting?
LOCKHART: Well, I think that we've certainly been talking to Senator Helms's office. I'm not quite sure whether it's the State Department person or the White House person. And I know that Governor Weld would be anxious to go up and sit down and talk to the Senator.
QUESTION: Do you know if Secretary Albright has had a formal meeting with Senator Helms on this issue?
LOCKHART: I don't know if they've sat down -- I know they've talked on the phone. I don't know what's gone on recently since the congressional recess. I know she's out of the country now on personal travel, so I don't suspect that anything is going on this week.
QUESTION: Does the President have any plans to meet with Gerry Adams when he comes over here?
LOCKHART: No.
QUESTION: Anybody at the White House?
LOCKHART: Yes. Actually, Gerry Adams is in Washington today. He's meeting with Sandy Berger at the White House. He's also meeting with the Secretary of Commerce this afternoon to discuss U.S. trade and investment opportunities in Northern Ireland.
QUESTION: What will he be discussing with Sandy Berger?
LOCKHART: I think he will be reviewing the Northern Ireland peace process.
QUESTION: To take you back to the funeral, there are some reports today that the White House has come under a lot of criticism for Mrs. Clinton's going and not Mr. Clinton's. Can you talk about that and have you gotten phone calls?
LOCKHART: I'm not aware of any phone calls or any criticism. I think that, given the nature of the event and the wishes of the people putting it together, that she is the right and most appropriate choice.
QUESTION: Has he expressed a personal thing -- "gee, I'd like to go, but it's not appropriate"?
LOCKHART: I think he's very comfortable with -- agai, given the nature of the event, that she's the most appropriate, based on her personal association and based on the feeling that was conveyed through various sources that she was a person that she, the First Lady, was someone that Princess Diana admired.
QUESTION: Is he disappointed that they didn't want him?
LOCKHART: No. He thinks that it's very appropriate that the First Lady attends.
QUESTION: What did he talk about Monday when he talked with Tony Blair on the telephone?
LOCKHART: They talked a bit, sharing some memories of Princess Diana, and then reviewed some issues including the Northern Ireland peace process, the Middle East process and a little bit on Bosnia.
QUESTION: What was this, Joe?
LOCKHART: The President spoke with Tony Blair on the telephone.
QUESTION: What is the U.S. outlook for the Northern Ireland peace process?
LOCKHART: We welcome the inclusion -- the announcement last week that -- including Sinn Fein and the peace talks, and welcome the conditions to make that possible to move towards a lasting peace.
QUESTION: Didn't we ask yesterday if he made calls?
LOCKHART: Yes, and at the time, I was not aware of that and only subsequently we became aware of that.
QUESTION: Did he call anyone else?
LOCKHART: Not that I'm aware of.
QUESTION: No one from the Spencer family, no one from --
LOCKHART: Not that I'm aware of, no.
QUESTION: Did she call?
QUESTION: Who called who?
LOCKHART: I believe he placed the call.
QUESTION: Because he was seeking guidance about the funeral?
LOCKHART: No, I think he wanted to check in with him, and they spent some time talking about just shared memories, given what the British people and the Prime Minister -- what they were going through.
QUESTION: Did they talk about representation at the funeral?
LOCKHART: I'm not sure specifically, exactly how it got talked about. I think it was more talking about what -- sharing different memories. And then I think there was at least a good bit of the conversation moved on to some of the business matters that I've detailed earlier.
QUESTION: Did she place any calls?
LOCKHART: I'm not aware, but I honestly haven't checked on that, so you might check with her office.