He has always been able to put on a decent show, to manipulate the waiting media masses and, through them, the public, so it should perhaps be no surprise that this most predictable of announcements has been able to collar so much publicity.
Sadly for the country, Blair's words have always soared higher than his deeds, and today's initial valedictory (there are seven weeks of these left!) was no exception. There were excellent lines about how lucky he is compared to the unfortunates he has met, and a peroration, perhaps influenced by Shakespeare's John of Gaunt, about how blessed this nation is, which was brilliant. And his words about power, at the beginning, if only they had been sincerely meant, were humbling and made us want to believe that he meant it. Ten years of experience with this man, however, has disillusioned us, and means that what we see is not the great orator, possessed of fine ideals, but a tawdry ham, consumed by his own humbug and still believing in h…