Blair's Memoir Released

Worth Clicking: Blasts from the past wound Romney

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September 01, 2010

Blair's Memoir Released

Former British Prime Minister Tony Blair's much anticipated memoir, A Journey: My Political Life, is out this morning and sending shockwaves through the country.

For the first time, Blair has given a candid account of his relationship with Gordon Brown, his successor as prime minister.

The Guardian: "We knew that their relationship, particularly after 2004, was often dire. But Blair has now written about it at length. He confirms that he considered sacking Brown and he says that he predicted Brown's premiership would be a disaster."

But perhaps most damaging is his claim that Brown lacked "practical, on the ground, everyday-life conviction". Blair writes: "At this utterly crucial epicentre of political destiny, I discovered there was a lacuna -- not the wrong instinct, but no instinct at the human, gut level. Political calculation, yes. Political feelings, no. Analytical intelligence, absolutely. Emotional intelligence, zero."

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Taegan D. Goddard is the founder of Political Wire, one of the earliest and most influential political web sites.

Goddard spent more than a decade as managing director and chief operating officer of a prominent investment firm in New York City. Previously, he was a policy adviser to a U.S. Senator and Governor.

Goddard is also co-author of You Won - Now What? (Scribner, 1998), a political management book hailed by prominent journalists and politicians from both parties. In addition, Goddard's essays on politics and public policy have appeared in dozens of newspapers across the country, including the Washington Post, USA Today, Boston Globe, San Francisco Chronicle, Chicago Tribune, Philadelphia Inquirer and Christian Science Monitor.

Goddard earned degrees from Vassar College and Harvard University. He lives in New York with his wife and three sons.

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September 01, 2010