Bark softly when in the presence of the master with a big stick

The NYT reports that British Take Dim View of Blair's Close Ties to U.S.

When Prime Minister Tony Blair visits Washington on Friday, he will find himself in a familiar position--—a statesman abroad, and assailed at home as what his harshest critics call America'’s "“poodle."”

[...]

Mr. Blair has long maintained that standing close to Mr. Bush in times of crisis enables the British leader to exert some influence over American actions.

But his critics are unlikely to grant him that. In an opinion piece in today'’s issue of The New Statesman, for instance, Sir Stephen Wall, a former senior adviser to Mr Blair, wrote: "The overriding reason for Britain's loss of moral authority is Blair'’s conviction he has to hitch the U.K. to the chariot of the U.S. president."

Maybe, Mr. Blair will inform Mr. Bush that the Lebanon affair doesn't look as handsome as it ought. And maybe he won't.