From The Times UK
By Tom Baldwin

It is testament to Tony Blair’s enduring popularity — on this side of the Atlantic, at least — that when Georgetown University advertised 700 tickets for his speech yesterday, it had 1,000 applicants in an hour.

The Prime Minister appeared rather touched that so many students would want to hear what he had to say, instead of protesting, as they undoubtedly would have in Britain. He told them that he was young, once, and had other interests before politics, and that it might have been more fun if he had stuck to them. It was a joke that would have fallen flat back home but, here, he was the funniest man alive.

It was a similar story on Thursday night, when he stood shoulder to shoulder with George Bush at a White House press conference once more.

This trip to Washington, the first in almost a year, was a nostalgic routine for the two leaders. In their first summit at Camp David five long years ago, Mr Bush revealed that they shared the same brand of toothpaste. People will wonder how you know that, George, the Prime Minister said.

In their 20 or so summits since, this banter has evolved into a familiar double-act, in the ever-so-faintly homoerotic fashion of Morecambe and Wise. As ever, the President could not help but heap praise on the head of his straight man and ally who has always articulated the case for war better than he has himself. It was demonstrated when Mr Blair explained why insurgents are fighting so hard — saying that it was because they feared the Iraqi people wanted democracy and liberty — those people fighting us know what is at stake. The question is, do we?

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