Tony Blair: Past, Present and Future

Making News

President Bush Willing to Negotiate on Iraq Benchmarks ()

With the House expected to pass a new Iraq spending bill this evening, President Bush said again today he will not accept a provision for funding in two installments with the second depending on progress toward various benchmarks.  The President said Chief-of-Staff Josh Bolten has been empowered to continue negotiations.  Jonathan Weisman is Congressional reporter for the Washington Post.

Guests:

• Jonathan Weisman: Congressional Reporter for the Washington Post, @jonathanweisman

Links:

• Washington Post article on Bush and benchmarks

Main Topic

Tony Blair: Past, Present and Future ()

It's been the worst-kept political secret in years, and today, Tony Blair said, "Ten years is enough."  After announcing his plans to his cabinet in London, the British Prime Minister finally announced that he'll submit his resignation to Queen Elizabeth on June 27.  By that time, the majority Labour Party's expected to have selected Chancellor Gordon Brown as the next Prime Minister. In his speech today, surrounded by vocal supporters, Blair addressed the most controversial aspect of his ten years as the leader of Britain: his support for President Bush and the war in Iraq. We look at Blair's accomplishments and his failures.  Will support for the war in Iraq damage his legacy or enhance it? What will Blair's absence mean for President Bush?  What's the future for leadership of the European Union?

Guests:

• Naomi Grimley: British Political Reporter for the BBC World Service
• Andrew Roberts: British historian and commentator
• Mary Dejevsky: chief editorial writer for the Independent
• Charles Kupchan: Director of Europe Studies at the Council on Foreign Relations
• Stryker McGuire: London Bureau Chief for Newsweek

Links:

• BBC on Blair announcement
• McGuire's article on Blair and Britain
• McGuire's article on Merkel

Reporter's Notebook

The Pope Gets Tough on Abortion during Visit to Brazil ()

Today, in the world's largest Roman Catholic Country, Pope Benedict XVI is emphasizing that politicians who vote to legalize abortion should "exclude themselves from communion." This comes at a sensitive time for Latin America. In Brazil, where abortion is against the law except in limited circumstances, the number of illegal abortions is estimated at one to two million a year. President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, who is opposed to the procedure himself, recently said that if the state abdicates from considering abortion as a public health question it will lead to "the deaths of many young women." Church leaders have denounced a proposal for a national referendum.  Jack Chang is South America Correspondent for McClatchy Newspapers.

Guests:

• Jack Chang: South America Correspondent for McClatchy Newspapers