Asked the very reasonable question whether a conclusion that the evidence was not 'beyond reasonable doubt' would therefore show that Tony Blair misled parliament, Campbell asserted that Tony Blair did not mislead parliament. Marr pressed him on this:
'Even if the intelligence when it is looked at does not confirm that the assertion that it was 'beyond reasonable doubt'.'
Yes, Campbell answered (an answer that defies basic logic) before taking a deep breath and, apparently, being on the verge of tears/emotional breakdown. Unable to answer for a several seconds, Campbell claimed he had been through a lot and was a bit upset.
You can watch it here.
Now, there is a useful story about the boy who cried wolf, and I feel this is the sequel. I think I don't believe Campbell. Perhaps it's overly cynical to assume that this was a planned performance ('If I cwy, perhaps they'll weally believe me.'), but I can imagine - having been evidently backed into a corner, which he never experienced at Chilcot or elsewhere - Campbell resorted to clever tactics by introducing a new trope: Liberal interventionism with a very human face.
8 comments:
There is a moment, just when he takes that deep breath and pauses, that you really want a samurai sword to swing in from the top of the screen and lop his lying head off.
In fact funnily enough, even after that moment, I was still hoping.
...and before that moment, too.
Marr should have kicked him while he was 'down' (even if it was feigned) and gone in for the kill.
Let's go all expletive here:
Alastair is an utter CUNT.
Yep...Marr lacks the killer instinct..Campbell was on the ropes with his guard down..time to finish the bastard off...I think Marr was so stunned that he choked. Send in Paxman next time.
Yes, he should have finished him off. He nearly did when he pressed him with 'This is the question and people say you can't answer it', but he should have savaged him.
Paxman may have done the deed, but in any case I do feel that moment of playacting exposed the bastard for what he is - even without Marr squishing his head.
Campbell didn't choke. It was feigned, no shadow of a doubt, but to a degree because I think the frustration and boredom is genuine.
Alistair Campbell is a consummate professional but he's also an slightly unhinged egocentric power gamer. From day one, when he was in the halls of power, to now, when he's a media lovey, he has had only one response and has never wavered - Blair is honourable and has always done the right thing - but he knows and we know this is a lie.
Campbell doesn't deeply convince himself the way Blair does - he doesn't see black when it's white - he just doesn't give a shit what colour it is as long as he's achieving his private and public power gaming objectives.
And now he's in a cul-de-sac because he can't possibly bury, obscure, confuse and rearrange the facts as he did in power. Instead he has to deal with the constant repetition of his (because he understands his compliance) previous outrageous manipulation and he's bored with it, it's getting to him because he's both frustrated and angry at the effrontery of it all.
Interestingly his replies to Marr mostly concentrate on style - he's annoyed with the manner of the questions - but he's also blatantly implying that all questioning and contrary conclusions are mere opinion forever lost in the complexity of the past. That the war was a matter of judgement and crucially even if that judgement proves wrong then hey what are you going to do, were all human.
This is the confounding cornerstone of the Campbell/Blair/Liberal interventionist defence - We did what we thought was the right thing to do within our very narrow perspective and there can never be fair accountability if you don't agree with us - simple really.
Lester,
As always a very insightful analysis. I agree with all of it and I think you draw great distinctions between Blair and Campbell (the boredom bit is an important note to make).
Yes, I'm inclined to subscribe to the entirety of your analysis (Blair = mentally ill, self-delusion; Campbell = controlled knowledge). Your is a much better post than mine.
Hi olching (sorry no one connected you with MsRobinson (barf) on the Cif valentine thread ... ok, settle down monkeyfish)... anyway:
remember back in October last year you had a thread about "A curious account of late modern Britain" and somehow BNP became embroiled with immigration/Australia in the comments section? And I linked to the closest we had to Nick Griffin?
Well, the good news for us, and the bad news for you is that our version of nickygriffy is soooooooooo pissed off with Asian immigration/ aboriginal rights in Australia that she's emigrating to the UK.
Arf - sorry about. She won't be a problem - she's so turd-heavy she'll sink.
Farewell Pauline - you won't be missed.
Hi parallax,
Yes, I remember well, though I'm hoping Little Miss Calamity will join the BNP and therefore ruin the party.
Me and MsRobinson? Good lord.
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