Now you know why Bush requires a signed loyalty oath to attend one of his speeches. Can you imagine this happening here?
International Herald Tribune: Tony Blair received a tense farewell Tuesday in his last speech as prime minister to the annual gathering of Britain's labor unions.More than a dozen activists walked out as he began speaking to protest his pro-business stance and aggressive foreign policy. Many others booed and hissed as he mentioned controversial topics like Iraq.
[..] He was heckled repeatedly during his 30-minute speech on economic globalization and grilled on employment issues during a combative question-and-answer session afterward.
[..] About 20 demonstrators stood at the start of the speech holding placards that said "Go Now!" Others booed as Blair was introduced and more than a dozen walked out - followed by TV cameras - as he began.
The prime minister jokingly thanked the delegates "for that fine introduction - more or less."
Some of the roughly 1,000 who remained in the hall shouted and heckled when Blair mentioned Iraq, Afghanistan, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and his overhaul of Britain's public services, all issues on which he has angered many Labour Party stalwarts. Read on...
I always get a big kick out of watching Blair in the raucous House of Commons sessions on C-Span. Wouldn't it be great if we had a similar situation here in the US, where Bush would have to face other elected officials publicly and respond to them off the cuff?
