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DID you see that video footage of Tony Blair arriving at a school in, I think, Telford, on Thursday?
There he was, surrounded by youngsters, just ahead of education secretary Alan Johnson, with that perma-grin on his face, hoping to talk about the importance of sport.
And talk he did about it - only the media weren't listening. Because all they wanted to know about was his latest chat with the police. One which was kept secret for four days at the request of the police, and for a further day by Downing Street.
I've seen that footage several times on TV now and it's only in the last 20 minutes I've twigged who he now reminds me of: Chesney Hawkes.
Think about it. Popstar of the early 90s, his career has been dominated by one thing: the embarrassing 'I am the one and only' single which topped the charts. No matter what he tries, he can't escape it.
He's now big on the uni ball circuit, and will come out and sing a few of his newer songs, but no-one cares. By the fifth, normally, the audience are singing 'The One and Only' and he decides to oblige.
It's kind of like that in reverse for Blair. Rather than the embarrassing moment coming at the start of the prime ministerial career, it's come at the end. And it doesn't matter what he says, or does, that's all people are interested in. Whether his hands are mucky in the cash for honours scandal.
From an outsider's point of view, it's quite amusing to see the upper levels of the Labour Party rattled as they are. The police investigation, which I suspect many thought would be a cursary white wash, is shaping up to be anything but.
But going back to the Chesney Hawkes analogy, while Chezza's embarrassment at not being able to get past his big single to quite amusing, for Britain, the shadow over Blair is a national disgrace.
Here is a man who, yes, has achieved a lot for the good of the country. But if he was working in commerce and his department was under investigation, surely he'd be suspended from his job pending the outcome? Denied the right to speak to those being interviewed?
For Blair, the time to go has come. There's no point hanging on, hoping it will go away. If he wants to be remembered for his achievements rather than his current sleaze, he'll step back, allow justice to take its course and, if in the right, come out smelling of roses. Of course, if he's got something to hide...
There he was, surrounded by youngsters, just ahead of education secretary Alan Johnson, with that perma-grin on his face, hoping to talk about the importance of sport.
And talk he did about it - only the media weren't listening. Because all they wanted to know about was his latest chat with the police. One which was kept secret for four days at the request of the police, and for a further day by Downing Street.
I've seen that footage several times on TV now and it's only in the last 20 minutes I've twigged who he now reminds me of: Chesney Hawkes.
Think about it. Popstar of the early 90s, his career has been dominated by one thing: the embarrassing 'I am the one and only' single which topped the charts. No matter what he tries, he can't escape it.
He's now big on the uni ball circuit, and will come out and sing a few of his newer songs, but no-one cares. By the fifth, normally, the audience are singing 'The One and Only' and he decides to oblige.
It's kind of like that in reverse for Blair. Rather than the embarrassing moment coming at the start of the prime ministerial career, it's come at the end. And it doesn't matter what he says, or does, that's all people are interested in. Whether his hands are mucky in the cash for honours scandal.
From an outsider's point of view, it's quite amusing to see the upper levels of the Labour Party rattled as they are. The police investigation, which I suspect many thought would be a cursary white wash, is shaping up to be anything but.
But going back to the Chesney Hawkes analogy, while Chezza's embarrassment at not being able to get past his big single to quite amusing, for Britain, the shadow over Blair is a national disgrace.
Here is a man who, yes, has achieved a lot for the good of the country. But if he was working in commerce and his department was under investigation, surely he'd be suspended from his job pending the outcome? Denied the right to speak to those being interviewed?
For Blair, the time to go has come. There's no point hanging on, hoping it will go away. If he wants to be remembered for his achievements rather than his current sleaze, he'll step back, allow justice to take its course and, if in the right, come out smelling of roses. Of course, if he's got something to hide...
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