In 1996, when Bill Clinton was running for president for the second time, and Tony Blair was the opposition leader in Great Britain, getting ready for the election that was to make him Prime Minister, Blair made a trip to the White House to meet with Clinton. At the end of the meeting, when the press was invited in, one of the British papers asked Clinton, “Do you hope that you’re sitting next to the next Prime Minister of the UK?”
It was a tricky question, designed to force the President to insult one of the two UK political parties. Clinton, without missing a beat, said, “I just hope he’s sitting next to the next President of the United States.”
Former Prime Minister Tony Blair relayed that story during an extraordinary conversation between the two political leaders that you can watch here: http://bit.ly/ac2eTv. Regardless of your opinion of their politics, it’s inarguable that these two men have had highly successful and (mostly) praiseworthy post-office careers. Clinton has formed the Clinton Global Initiative, and Blair has his Faith Foundation, his work in the Middle East and Africa, and a very lucrative public speaking career.
I recommend the video highly, even though it’s long, for public speakers, because these are two masters of communications talking about how they see the world now and doing some ex post facto justification of their own political careers. It’s fascinating stuff, and it’s impressive to watch.
Blair defers to Clinton, but subtly, because the former President is the alpha dog today as he was when Blair was accused of being his poodle, and the UK press lambasted him for being too deferential to Clinton and the US. It’s not an issue that matters much in the US. Most Americans are so US-centric that their attitude is – if they ever think about it – “well, of course the Prime Minister defers to the President.”
Dominance aside, both men are comfortable, articulate, and effective communicators. Blair says “actually” too much, and Clinton looks tired and practically swallows the mike, but otherwise the two commit no gaffes and have interesting things to say about peace negotiations, the Middle East, technology and the coming generation, and the shape of the 21st century. Blair tells better stories, and Clinton has the more probing analysis of political trends, but both men demonstrate an extraordinary grasp of the current state of the world and an ability to articulate that vision.
Both men are hopeful about the Middle East because, they believe, societal changes will push the Arab leaders in the region to make a real accommodation with Israel. We can only hope that they are still as smart about politics as they are gifted communicators.
That Clinton reply to the reporter question is classic!
Did you see the film The Special Relationship by any chance? Definitely worth watching as it explains a lot about the UK/US relationship over the last 15 years or so.
As you say, they are both very good speakers and ‘conviction politicians’.