Hooboy! Tony Blair's reluctance to condemn Murdoch is raising many eyebrows.

[snagglepuss]

snip

The speed of Wendi Deng Murdoch's right hook, to stop a protester during her husband Rupert Murdoch's testimony to MPs, caused a stir around the world. Two particularly admiring onlookers of the must-see TV moment are likely to have been the Murdochs' increasingly close friends, Tony and Cherie Blair.

Blair's reluctance to speak out against Murdoch over the phone-hacking affair will undoubtedly bolster accusations that he has been compromised by his close ties with the media tycoon and his wife. The former prime minister recently played down claims he had been a target of a private investigator working for the News of the World, saying he did not have a mobile phone while in office.

snip

But Blair's reluctance to join in with the condemnation of a man who, it was reported in 2006, offered him a senior role in his media company once he stood down from office, has been noticeable.

snip

This month it was alleged Blair urged Brown to persuade Tom Watson, the Labour MP who led the efforts to expose phone-hacking at the NoW, to back off. The claims were denied by Blair.



http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2011/jul/24/rupert-wendi-murdoch-dine-blairs

[ClassWarrior]

1. The poodle from hell raises his sycophantic head again.

NGU.

[Forkboy]

2. K&R

[malaise]

3. Murdoch own Thatcher, Blair and

Cameron

[Lorien]

4. Another corporate RW cronie masquerading as a Liberal. nt

[undeterred]

5. Has Hillary Clinton condemned Murdoch?

He did a fundraiser for her, as I recall.

[snagglepuss]

6. Good question. I had no idea he gave her a thumb's up. nt

[kenny blankenship]

7. Can't WAIT to hear what Murdoch had on him

Poodle says he didn't use any cellphone, implying he couldn't have been compromised in a hack. Given what is now known for certain about the um... news gathering methods...used by Murdoch operatives it would be a bit silly to assume that hacking cellphones is all they did to gather blackmail material, Page Six shite and opposition research. It is known (because R. Brooks stupidly admitted it) that they bribed the Metropolitan Police. Well, who else comes into accidental possession of sensitive information about public figures?

[LeftyMom]

14. No doubt his staffers had mobile phones.

Family members too, most likely.

[JohnyCanuck]

8. A smart dog will not bite the hand that feeds it. n/t

[jwirr]

9. Hope hope! If the poodle comes down does he bring booosh with

him? I do not believe that Murdoch would have forgotten Blair in his search for power. Blair is not afraid of Murdoch but of what Murdoch knows about him.

[gratuitous]

10. Say what you will about Blair

But when he's bought, he stays bought.

You'd think that if Blair was being blackmailed, now would be a very good time to come out about it.

[snagglepuss]

11. LOL. Touche. That should be a bumber sticker. However where do you get

the idea he is being blackmailed? What has always made him such a disgusting slime ball in my estimation is that he is an unadulterated opportunist. I don't believe for a moment Murdoch would have any need to blackmail TB to get TB to do Murdoch's bidding.

[gratuitous]

12. If he's an opportunist

Now would be an ideal time to jump the Bad Ship Murdoch before it goes down forever. But since he's not doing that, I presume Murdoch has something on Blair. The public sympathy factor would be real high for Blair right now, so I'm guessing it's something really heinous.

[young_at_heart]

13. Just watched "The Ghost Writer" tonight----Tony Blair was the model

for the Prime Minister---pretty interesting comparison in some ways.

[Major Hogwash]

15. He'll be his lapdog until the very end.

And when Murdoch finally goes down the sewey hole, Tony will have to find another lap to occupy.