I am no fan of Tony Blair’s domestic policies, which are for the most

part diametrically opposed to the conservative (small C) approach.

When it comes to foreign policy, however, he has been about as good as

you could hope for from a leader of the Labour Party. Therefore I do

not begrudge him his Congressional Medal of Honor. However, he has

yet to pick it up, for the illuminating reasons former Conservative

Party research head (and before that Social Democrat activist) Danny

Finkelstein describes

in The Times.

Nevertheless, Danny believes he should pick it up soon, and I can’t

disagree with his reasoning:

He must go because the American people need to know how
much we value their friendship. He must go because the tide of
anti-American feeling in this country needs to be confronted. He must
go because he should be proud, not ashamed, that he said yes when our
allies came to call and asked whether, after all the support they have
given us, we might reciprocate. He must go because the commitment to
spread democracy around the world is a brave and noble one. He must go
as a bold statement to the enemies of liberty everywhere that those
who defend freedom are bound together and are resolute.

Well said, Danny. It is quite a test of Tony Blair’s mettle as to

whether he will heed this sage advice.