“Tony Blair Is George Bush’s Poodle”
No. Nothing repels disillusioned Labour voters more than the idea that their prime minister is at the beck and call of a right-wing Republican president. Both opposition parties—the Tories and the Liberal Democrats—are trying to cash in on this sentiment. A Tory election spot features a clip of Bush patting Blair affectionately on the shoulder, and the Liberal Democrats have a leaflet with a picture of Blair gazing into Bush’s eyes with the slogan “I’m voting to beat the war-mongers.” This is the price that Blair pays for what British journalist Peter Riddell calls a “hug them close strategy” toward the United States. Blair offers public loyalty in exchange for private influence. Unfortunately for Blair’s campaign, the strategy also requires that Blair not boast about what he has achieved. So when U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice announced that the United States would be joining the European effort to engage Iran, Blair made no victory pronouncement. And Blair’s strategy has had other successes. It is highly unlikely that Bush would have tried for a second resolution at the United Nations over Iraq without pressure from Blair.

It is true that Blair often does not take advantage of his strong bargaining position to demand sweeteners for Britain. British firms saw little of the reconstruction action in Iraq and were hit hard by the tariffs the United States slapped on steel imports in 2002. But history will deem that irrelevant if Blair can help the Bush administration broker a Middle East peace deal—one of the prime minister’s top priorities in private discussions with Bush. Those Britons who want to see a British prime minister publicly denounce the U.S. president will have to make do with Love Actually for the foreseeable future.

“Blair Is a Neoconservative”
Yes. There are almost as many definitions of neoconservativism as there are neoconservatives. But if the philosophy is defined as a commitment to make the world more democratic—using force if necessary to achieve that aim—then Blair is certainly one. What attracts Blair to neoconservatism is his love of the grand project. This utopian bent also explains his differences with some hardliners in the Bush administration. Whereas U.N. Ambassador nominee John Bolton thinks 10 stories being knocked off the U.N. building would make no difference, Blair would probably like to add 10 on. Blair's blend of hawkishness and faith in international institutions got him into trouble over Iraq: He genuinely believed that if Iraq could be shown to be in breach of Security Council resolutions, the United Nations would act.