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April 27, 2005
Thomas Friedman endorses Tony Blair
Friedman writes:
In sum, Tony Blair has redefined British liberalism. He has made liberalism about embracing, managing and cushioning globalization, about embracing and expanding freedom - through muscular diplomacy where possible and force where necessary - and about embracing fiscal discipline.
Posted by William Polley at April 27, 2005 04:40 PM
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Comments
Friedman is a diehard supporter of Israel, which Tony defended by demolishing Iraq. No surprise here!
Posted by: touche at April 27, 2005 06:52 PM
Friedman once again catches the zeitgeist..... endorsing TB just as the British public is sick to the teeth of him. Of course - Labour will win handsomely - but in spite of Blair and not because of him. With Gordon Brown in charge of Labour the Conservatives would be heading for a total wipeout. By the way - did you see the hilarious review by Matt Taibi of Friedmans 'the world is flat' ? Not always fair, but just hysterical.
Posted by: rjw at April 28, 2005 05:54 PM
I've been reading Friedman since "The Lexus and the Olive Tree", and my opinion of his writing has definitely evolved. Sometimes I read him just out of curiosity to see what he's going to say next. I have not read "The World is Flat." Too many books ahead of it in the queue on my nightstand. I have read some reviews, although I'm not sure about the one you mention.
Posted by: William Polley at April 28, 2005 09:59 PM
http://www.nypress.com/18/16/news&columns/taibbi.cfm
there's the link. Very funny, though a bit harsh.
I liked his book on israel and palestine a lot - he was for a long time a correspondent in the middle east, and I learnt a lot reading it.
The lexus and the olive tree has gotten a lot of flak, but I found it a good read, though a bit too triumphalist.
I'm not rushing to read his latest though - I too have many other book on the 'to read' list. Just too many good books out there to keep up.
Posted by: rjw at April 30, 2005 11:09 AM