After Egg Mess, Blair Cancels Book Signing

Screenwriter suspects he had 'one too many' drinks, copied film dialogue

(NEWSER) - Tony Blair: Former prime minister, published memoirist ... and plagiarist? That's what screenwriter Peter Morgan suspects. Blair's version of his 1997 meeting with the Queen in A Journey reads: "You are my 10th prime minister. The first was Winston." If that sounds familiar, it's probably because you saw The Queen, written by Peter Morgan. Morgan's version: "You are my 10th prime minister, Mr. Blair. My first was Winston Churchill." More»

Dowd: You should have more, Bush poodle

(NEWSER) - Tony Blair is still hawking his book, and he's still not sorry about his role in taking down Saddam Hussein, he tells ABC's This Week. While "You can't not have regrets about the lives lost," the former PM says, "If we hadn't taken out Saddam, there would have still been consequences." Though of course, "We don't know" what those would have been, Politico notes. More»

Anti-war protesters show up for Dublin book-signing

(NEWSER) - Tony Blair may well wish he'd been drinking for today's book-signing in Dublin: Several hundred anti-war protesters awaited the former PM as he arrived at a bookstore in the city center, hurling everything from epithets to shoes, eggs, and a bottle, reports the Irish Times. The book-signing was the first since Blair released his memoirs this week, and the Times notes that those hoping for his John Hancock outnumbered the shoeless by 3 to 1. More»

(NEWSER) - The Decider, aka George W. Bush, will write a book titled Decision Points, the New York Post reports. The former president's rumored advance for the book, due out in 2010, is $7 million. That’s $5 million short of Bill Clinton’s deal for My Life, $1 million less than Hillary Clinton got for Living History, and $2 million shy of Tony Blair’s advance, Gawker reports. Ouch. More»

Ex-PM will advise on global politics, retain Mideast envoy role

(NEWSER) - Former British PM Tony Blair will advise JPMorgan Chase on global politics, and pick up a check in the neighborhood of $1 million for his part-time trouble. Blair will keep his current job as the Quartet's envoy to the Middle East, reports the Times of London, but it's hardly his first cash cow: he's inked a $10 million deal for his memoirs and is cleaning up with speaking engagements. More»