The Bush visit to London

Today’s Wall Street Journal editorial on President Bush’s visit to London and Tony Blair takes Winston Churchill as its polestar. It is therefore unerring in its assessment. The editorial is “Blair and Bush.”
I don’t know how we could have missed the Blair speech at the Lord Mayor’s Banquet last Monday, quoted by the Journal in this editorial. In the speech Blair defends President Bush and the timing of his visit. Here’s the portion quoted by the Journal: “I believe this is exactly the right time for him to come. Let us be clear what is happening in Iraq. Leave aside the rights and wrongs of the conflict, upon which I admit there can be legitimate disagreement. What is happening now is very simple. It is the battle of seminal importance for the early 21st century and it will define relations between the Muslim world and the West. It will have far-reaching implications for the future conduct of American and Western democracy.”