Blair to Take Yale Post This Fall

Ex-prime minister optimistic but doesn't regret Iraq war

(NEWSER) - Tony Blair was both Britain's Barack Obama, promising change, and its George W. Bush, dragging his country into an unpopular war, Jennifer Senior writes in New York. But now the Middle East envoy and superstar Yale lecturer is his own man. He's excited about Obama's victory and urges the president-elect to "find an agenda that is capable of unifying the world." More»

Enough already with Harvard and Yale: blogger

(NEWSER) - The Supreme Court and White House may as well be decorated in ivy, complains David Bernstein. "Once Elena Kagan gets confirmed, every Supreme Court Justice will have attended Harvard or Yale law schools," he writes. And Kagan—whose bachelor's degree, for the record, is from Princeton—was nominated by a Harvard-educated president who beat Yale and Harvard opponents to succeed a Yalie who himself succeeded ... oh, you get the picture. 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»

PM dispatched troops despite lack of Iraq reconstruction strategy

(NEWSER) - In the run-up to the invasion of Iraq, Tony Blair committed British troops to the effort despite knowing of serious deficiencies in US preparations for the aftermath, a TV documentary set to air this week reveals. He pushed ahead even after President Bush offered him an out, the Observer reports, saying Britain could aid the campaign "some other way." More»