The Special Relationship Page #3

boys' town with you

with your jonathans, your alastairs

and your gordons.

You know, bill clinton

was once asked

who would he go to if there

was a crisis in the room.

He said his wife.

Now you'd never say that.

- yes, I would.

- Rubbish.

Whereas they're so tight,

such close collaborators,

they're effectively running

that country together.

I think there's something

quite romantic about it.

Do you know, when he was

governor of arkansas,

the staffers actually referred

to them as "biliary. "

biliary?

"terie"?

- "chony"?

- Tony, no no.

- you can't get me-

- You can't... - give us a kiss.

- no no no no.

- Give us a kiss.

Oh, stop it.

It's because we're such

tight collaborators.

Well, that's a great strike...

what did you get up to today?

I was taken to see the newly

renovated globe theatre

- by cherie blair.

- Oh, god.

What did you do to deserve that?

That's what we do,

the wives of great men.

Then we had some lunch,

just the two of us.

Did you swap stories?

Talking about tony and me?

All the things we do that drive you crazy?

Your names came up.

She ask your advice?

I told her to shield her children

from the tabloid spotlight

as much as possible

and to try to be herself,

both of which she will

discover are impossible.

She's in kind of a tough spot

and she doesn't get much help,

which she whined about a bit.

That's just the working class.

You know she's from liverpool?

It's the arkansas of england.

She obviously adores him though.

Well, he's quite a catch.

It's not often you see that.

What?

A couple where the husband is more

attractive than the wife.

- he is handsome. - blair?

You think so?

- well, you don't?

- He's got charm, I guess,

but there's something about him.

He's too perfect.

So you prefer your man imperfect?

'cause I hate to disappoint you,

hon,

but my mama told me a million times

- that I'm just too good to be true.

- Yeah, right.

Is there ever a moment when

you're not stuffing that thing?

So you continue to practice?

You're not giving up the law?

Oh, no, never. I mean,

that's if anyone will bring me cases

- now that tony is in #10.

- Oh, that's right.

- blame it on me. - what did

your predecessor do?

- norma major?

- she wrote a book.

Oh! umm...

The prime minister's country house

- and its history. " - perfect.

Cherie's going to do one about

downing street. don't laugh.

- tony. - can I offer one

piece of serious advice?

- if it's not too presumptuous...

- Oh, here we go.

- ... or self-aggrandizing?

- Can I make a disclaimer here?

- please, feel free to ignore him.

- No. please.

- I'd like to hear it.

- Hit the ground running.

Now we got off to a bad start,

and it's taken us

four years to recover.

The other thing is

to start thinking now

about what you want

your legacy to be.

I've been in office

less than a month,

- and you want me to work out my legacy?

- No no no, bill's right.

Because if you don't do it,

other people will do it for you.

Legacy is reductive. people tend

to remember you for one thing.

You have to make sure you get ahead

and define what that is.

And if you decide

to take up a cause,

make sure it isn't healthcare.

And if someone in your first

press conference

asks you about gays

in the military,

you say nothing!

People often ask me

if I'm exhilarated

by our election victory.

Of course I'm excited about it,

but I feel an equally profound

sense of responsibility

I feel it...

...perhaps especially about here...

northern ireland.

This is not a party

political game.

It is about life and death

for the people here.

The people of northern ireland

have stood up to terrorist

violence for 25 years.

They have not been

destroyed by it,

but the legacy of bitterness

has made the normal political

give and take

virtually impossible.

The I. r.a. and sinn

fein have a choice

between negotiations

and violence.

My message to sinn fein is clear:

The settlement train is leaving.

I want you on that train,

but it is leaving anyway.

And I will not allow

it to wait for you.

Thank you very much.

Thank you very much.

The search for peace in

northern ireland

was dealt a devastating blow today

when the ira murdered two

police officers.

Two ira gunmen caught them

in a side street.

It's believed they came

up behind them

and fired a number of shots into

their heads at close range.

all this after sinn fin

attacked tony blair's

impassioned ultimatum

for peace as pro-unionist.

gerry adams,

told about the shootings

at a book signg, said that

on a personal level

he was shocked but reluctant to comment

on the political fallout.

How could they do that?

I merely suggest they enter talks

and they kill two people.

I mean, maybe I went too far.

You said what had to be said

and they heard it...

The men who murdered those cops.

That's why they did what they did.

They're scared. they're scared,

because after all the decades

of endless back and forth

and false starts there's

finally a man in downing street

who's not going to put up

with their bullshit anymore.

Gerry adams assured me

that he was ready to

push for a ceasefire,

so that sinn fein

could join the talks.

He knew what I was going to say.

And then this, and he says nothing.

Nothing.

Not a word against the

people who killed those men.

Well, how can I help?

Do you want me to make

a statement?

Well, your advisors

will tell you that

there's no mileage in

you involving yourself

in the domestic

problems of the u. k.

Gerry adams owes me.

I gave that guy visas

and political legitimacy when you

brits weren't even allowing him on tv.

Now I want to do this right.

Why don't have your guys

jot down a few ideas,

come up with a few lines?

You'll have them before

you get up.

the ira has

claimed responsibility

for what is ultimately an

outrageous act of cowardice

and no one should ever make

the mistake of thinking

that actions of this kind represent

anything equating to patriotism.

I, frankly, think now the ball

is in sinn fin's court.

Everyone has decisions

to make in life.

Their decision is,

are they going to be part

of the peace process or not?

I hope the answer will be yes.

good evening.

The sinn fin leader,

gerry adams,

walked into #10 downing

street today.

The first such meeting

for 76 years.

We had a good meeting

because I think we engaged.

I think we faced up

to the difficulties.

In many ways the engagement

could be described

as a moment in history,

because usually the moments

in anglo-irish relationships

in history are bad moments.

Today was a significantly

good moment.

It is thought that president

bill clinton

helped to revive the peace process

in northern ireland today,

proving, yet again, the long reach

of his political clout.

bill, thank you.

My pleasure. happy to help.

Sometimes it just takes an outsider

to help settle a family dispute.

Well, I can't thank you enough.

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