From: Andrew Johnson
Date: 2006-03-04 16:20:11
Subtle manoeuvring…. from: www.oldamericancentu… 8.) Religion and Government are Intertwined: Governments in fascist nations tend to use the most common religion in the nation as a tool to manipulate public opinion. Religious rhetoric and terminology is common from government leaders, even when the major tenets of the religion are diametrically opposed to the government’s policies or actions. politics.guardian.co…,,1723115,00.html?gusrc=rss God will judge me, PM tells Parkinson Michael White, political editorSaturday March 4, 2006 GuardianTony Blair is reconciled to the prospect that God and history will eventually judge his decision to go to war with Iraq, and says his decision, like much of his policymaking, was underpinned by his Christian faith. Mr Blair made the remarks in an appearance on Parkinson to be broadcast tonight, in which he spoke of the struggle with his conscience to do the right thing because people’s lives are at stake. Asked about Iraq, the prime minister said: “Well, I think if you have faith about these things, then you realise that judgment is made by other people.” Questioned further, he added: “If you believe in God, [the judgment] is made by God as well.” Michael Parkinson asked: “So will you pray to God when you make a decision like that?” Mr Blair said merely: “Well, I don’t want to get into something like that.” Unlike George Bush, who said God told him to launch the Iraq campaign, Mr Blair has taken care to keep his faith away from political discourse. He once bridled visibly when asked by Jeremy Paxman if he and Mr Bush prayed together. But he confirmed the thesis put forward by more than one biographer that it was his rediscovery of religion while at Oxford University which led him into politics. The first serving prime minister to be interviewed by Parkinson, Mr Blair was gently pressed on the political and the personal. He was reverential about Bill Clinton, calling him “the best politician I’ve ever come across”. But he was less than fulsome about Mr Bush, saying only that he is “extremely straightforward to deal with – and what he says, he does”. He revealed how he responded to a mother whose daughter was facing a heart operation. “She said her daughter was terrified about it, and the only person she knew that had had it was me. So would I speak to her about it? I did, I gave her a call: ‘It’s not so bad, you know.'” While brushing aside familiar questions about the Labour succession and his relationship with Gordon Brown – which he suggests is “still a good partnership” – Mr Blair recalls the first time he had a proper chat with his new father-in-law, the turbulent Old Labour actor, Tony Booth. “We were in our house, and obviously I’d met him before – but I hadn’t really had a proper chat with him. He says, ‘Do you mind if I light a joint?’ And I thought, ‘this is my father-in-law, it should be the other way round.’ So I said no.” For all his technological evangelism, Mr Blair appears to struggle to keep up himself. Yes, he has an iPod, but no, he is not always in control of it. “My daughter [Kathryn] does all the songs, I’m not very good with the technology, I’m not very good with any aspect of it,” he said. Christina Aguilera is on his iPod. Mr Blair says that living with the “24/7 media is also one of the toughest parts of the job”, describing how his profile changed once he became leader in 1994. “I was quite well known in a small way, and suddenly it’s completely different.” He admits to only losing a night’s sleep “on about three or four different occasions” since 1997. The Blairs live in the flat above No 12 Downing Street, and once the door is closed they become a normal family, dealing with homework and daily routine. “I think if your family is very strong then it works; well, touch wood it works.” Guardian Unlimited © Guardian Newspapers Limited 2006
