Bush salutes Blair at W.H. farewell By JENNIFER LOVEN, Associated Press Writer
4 minutes ago
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070517/ap_on_go_pr_wh/bush_blair&printer=1;_ylt=ApMGeaaafTvvKz6FcU1xICIGw_IETo the last, neither George Bush nor Tony Blair wavered.
The British prime minister allowed not a single regret about the war alliance that cost him his popularity and perhaps his job. The U.S. president, losing his best friend on the world stage, bristled at suggestions Blair should already be out the door.
"Trying to do a tap dance on his political grave, aren't you?" Bush said Thursday at Blair's side in the White House Rose Garden, admonishing British reporters looking beyond Blair's tenure six weeks before he leaves office. "You don't understand how effective Blair is, I guess."
Bush's reluctance to see the British leader go is understandable. For Bush, Blair has been a steadfast friend for over six years, an articulate and impassioned defender of the U.S.-led war in Iraq.