Tony Blair surprised Democrats today by arranging to have his eldest son Euan take an internship with a leading Congressman in the US -- House Rules Committee chair and Republican, David Dreier:

Euan Blair is to spend three months unpaid with the Republican majority on the House of Representatives Committee on Rules, the Sunday Telegraph revealed.

He will reportedly be under the wing of Californian lawmaker David Dreier, the committee's chairman and a member of the lower House of Representatives for the Republican Party of US
President George W. Bush.

Blair obviously wants to prepare Euan for a life in politics, and apparently in particular wants him to have plenty of experience with Britain's most strategic ally. The choice of Dreier and the Rules Committee could be read in many different ways, but it's safe to say that the choice is deliberate, as the Democrats would have happily taken Euan under their wing. This has already ruffled feathers across the aisle, where they assumed that Blair's close relationship with George Bush had more to do with necessity and personality than politics.

Democrats and Labour share much more philosophically than do Labour and Republicans, of course. But what Democrats don't do is win elections -- and as a result, they don't run anything in Washington at the moment. Blair's choice for Euan, the Rules Committee, demonstrates that aspect of the choice he made. The Rules Committee is one of the most partisan and contentious arenas in the House, where power politics reaches its zenith. Blair must believe that the Republicans have more to teach young Euan than do their Democratic opponents about leadership and success in that arena.

Perhaps the Democrats should ask themselves why that is -- and then take another look at Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid as their party leadership.

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» "To the Edge, Alice!!" from The Smoothing Plane
Sufficiently schooled by the Democrats, Blair could have tossed a two-assed coin into the air, and not be surprised to see it land balanced delicately on the edge. Unbalanced and in high frothy zeal, [Read More]

Tracked on June 26, 2005 11:45 AM