# Tony Blair on the Late Late



## censuspro (4 Sep 2010)

Did anyone see this on Friday? The only time I tuned into the Late Late because I knew there was actually going to be a decent guest.

I thought it was a very bad interview from Ryan Tubridy's perspective. Asking really silly questions like; did you ever pray with George Bush? or do you drink too much? At one stage Tubridy was describing Bertie ahern as "a great..." before he realised what he was saying and stopped himself.


----------



## Staples (4 Sep 2010)

it was one of those rare moments that you were sorry Pat Kenny wasn't there.  It would have been superb.  I doubt he would have used the expression "woulda, shoulda, coulda" in the context of a discussion on weapons of mass destruction.

On the other hand, Tubridy was more comfortable with Jedward whereas PK would have everyone squirming.

Maybe there should be two late lates for differnt types of guests......


----------



## dockingtrade (4 Sep 2010)

tubridy was out of his depth with blair. Blair was excllent as an interviewee. It would have been interesting so to see pat interview him


----------



## Marion (4 Sep 2010)

I think Mark Little is the only person on RTE who might have given him a decent interview. But he is on a career break.

Pat Kenny is ... well just all about Pat Kenny. Ryan Tubridy is more or less Pat Kenny but a little less stiff.

Marion


----------



## lou2 (4 Sep 2010)

Pat Kenny apparently did a radio interview with Blair which is to be broadcast on his show Monday (I presume.) It was recorded earlier on Friday. Might be interesting.


----------



## censuspro (5 Sep 2010)

Staples said:


> it was one of those rare moments that you were sorry Pat Kenny wasn't there. It would have been superb. I doubt he would have used the expression "woulda, shoulda, coulda" in the context of a discussion on weapons of mass destruction.
> 
> On the other hand, Tubridy was more comfortable with Jedward whereas PK would have everyone squirming.
> 
> Maybe there should be two late lates for differnt types of guests......


 
I couldnt agree with you more. Tubridy is a tabloid interviewer who is in his element interviewing celebrity magazine guests.


----------



## Pique318 (5 Sep 2010)

censuspro said:


> Did anyone see this on Friday? The only time I tuned into the Late Late because I knew there was actually going to be a decent guest.
> 
> I thought it was a very bad interview from Ryan Tubridy's perspective. Asking really silly questions like; did you ever pray with George Bush? or do you drink too much? At one stage Tubridy was describing Bertie ahern as "a great..." before he realised what he was saying and stopped himself.



+1 to everything you said.
TB was extremely professional and is obviously well versed in the art of being interviewed by a muppet. He handled himself excellently.


----------



## Yorrick (5 Sep 2010)

Tubridy's proble is that he is a muppet and gerally has to act like one. Then when he has a serious interview where he knows a large audience will be watching he becomes nervous and fluffs it.trying to be the consummate professional too hard
He did it with Brian Cowan, Enda Kenny, Gerry Adams and now Tony Blair.

Completely out of his depth.
If they bring back Bosco he might be capable of doing that


----------



## Purple (5 Sep 2010)

Bring back Pat Kenny and don't have idiotic guests. Problem solved.


----------



## onq (5 Sep 2010)

Eamon Dunphy fluufed it with Cambell.

Tubridy fluffed it with Blair.

Plus ça change.

This is so as not to upset the Brits.

Otherwise they'd have let Meriam O'Callaghan castrate them both.

Metaphorically speaking, of course.

ONQ.


----------



## Firefly (6 Sep 2010)

Pique318 said:


> +1 to everything you said.
> TB was extremely professional and is obviously well versed in the art of being interviewed by a muppet. He handled himself excellently.


 
Except for the very last bit. Everything was going well for TB until Tubbers mentioned his kids having Irish passports and TB wasn't aware of it! Can you imagine not being aware that your children had passports for another country.

Also when he mentioned his son getting caught for under-age drinking he said something like " the poor fella" - whatever way he said it I thought he had a distant relationship with his kids. Otherwise it was good - as for Jedward....OMG


----------



## bren1916 (6 Sep 2010)

It was embarrassing at best and fair play to Blair for not losing the rag with some of the childish badgering from skeletor..


----------



## annR (6 Sep 2010)

bren1916 said:


> It was embarrassing at best and fair play to Blair for not losing the rag with some of the childish badgering from skeletor..



+1
I had to turn it off, found it too embarrassing.  What a waste, could have been a great interview.


----------



## DB74 (6 Sep 2010)

I would rather see Pat Kenny fluff an irrelevant interview with the likes of Jedward or struggle through the Toy Show than have an interview with Tony Blair ruined by a tabloid interviewer like Tubridy.

Continuing to call this farce The Late Late Show makes a mockery of Gay Byrne and the many years he put into the show to make it what it was.


----------



## demoivre (6 Sep 2010)

Miriam O Callaghan would have been a better choice for the Late Late imo, a balance between the stiffness of Kenny and the weak intellect of Tubridy. I was embarrassed for him especially during the bit on Iraq - Brian Walden he aint! Jordan and Jedward are Tubridy's level - unfortunately they are not the types of  interviews I want to be watching on a Friday night.


----------



## Caveat (6 Sep 2010)

Not sure that the format would suit her - and she maybe comes across as too laid back/homely but I really think Marian Finucane would have handled the interview very well. 

Her matiness and earthiness masks a very underrated interviewing talent - she has a great ability to makes interviewees at ease before slyly slipping the odd flummoxing question.  Not unlike Gaybo as it happens.

But Gaybo was never as sexy as Marian.


----------



## Betsy Og (6 Sep 2010)

I thought Tubbers saw himself as a bit of an intellect??, always baying on about stuff he reads and US history etc


----------



## Complainer (6 Sep 2010)

Caveat said:


> But Gaybo was never as sexy as Marian.


Must be the husky smoker's cough that turns you on.


----------



## Staples (7 Sep 2010)

Betsy Og said:


> I thought Tubbers saw himself as a bit of an intellect??, always baying on about stuff he reads and US history etc


 
Yes but it's an image he like to convey.  There's little of any depth that he doesn't seek to share.  Every time he reads a book, you get to hear about it.

I don't think his intellect comes close to Kenny who has a genuine ability to reason and understand.


----------



## Caveat (7 Sep 2010)

Complainer said:


> Must be the husky smoker's cough that turns you on.


 
Well it's a good start.

I bet she's bleedin' *filthy* as well ...

I think Tubridy is smart, quick, can be witty etc and seems to be well enough informed,  but I don't really see him as an academic or intellectual as such.


----------



## censuspro (7 Sep 2010)

I don't think most people are looking for an intellect or an academic. I think they just don't want to hear people like Tony Blair being asked stupid questions.

A couple of questions that I would have liked to ask for example. Is it true you were actually born in Scotland? Why did you decide to convert to Catholicism? Was there really a meeting between you and Gordon Brown to agree on who would become the next PM?


----------



## Firefly (7 Sep 2010)

censuspro said:


> A couple of questions that I would have liked to ask for example. Is it true you were actually born in Scotland? Why did you decide to convert to Catholicism? Was there really a meeting between you and Gordon Brown to agree on who would become the next PM?


 
My Q for TB: What did Saddam Hussein have to do with Sept 11th?


----------



## Purple (7 Sep 2010)

Firefly said:


> What did Saddam Hussein have to do with Sept 11th?



Nothing.


----------



## DB74 (7 Sep 2010)

Purple said:


> Nothing.


 
Thanks Tony!


----------



## censuspro (7 Sep 2010)

Firefly said:


> My Q for TB: What did Saddam Hussein have to do with Sept 11th?


 
I think he's been asked that once or twice before.


----------



## Firefly (7 Sep 2010)

Purple said:


> Nothing.


 
Exactly...so why did they invade again? I know Saddam wasn't an angel but there are many more "just causes" such as Rwanda, Darfur etc that TB could have come to the rescue to


----------



## Purple (7 Sep 2010)

Firefly said:


> Exactly...so why did they invade again? I know Saddam wasn't an angel but there are many more "just causes" such as Rwanda, Darfur etc that TB could have come to the rescue to



There’s no oil in Rwanda and since the French had hundreds of troops on the ground fighting with the genocidal Hutu army and militias it would have resulted in British and French troops shooting at each other and the last time that happened was 1800 (unless you count Vichy France).

Darfur would turn into a war against China since they are financing the whole thing.


----------



## censuspro (7 Sep 2010)

Firefly said:


> Exactly...so why did they invade again? I know Saddam wasn't an angel but there are many more "just causes" such as Rwanda, Darfur etc that TB could have come to the rescue to


 
He gave his reasons when he was asked during the interview. That debate is old hat at this stage and those arguements have been trashed out thousands of times.


----------



## sunrock (7 Sep 2010)

Tony Blair is a brillant orator and he has all the facts and reasons for his political decisions "off pat" so to speak. Tubridy was poor but Blair would be comfortable with Kennys questions as well.
The simple fact is that the UK is in steplock with the US and Blair will have the justification for participating in any US action no matter how sceptical the public is for the actual reasons. The decision to invade was  made first. Then the justification for it is sought after .
The only person who could interview him properly is George Galloway....however I doubt if Blair would allow himself to be interviewed by GG.
Blair was the most brilliant politician of his generation. He was lucky like Bertie in getting out before the financial crisis and handing the baton to Browne.
He was brillant at selling the message ,even as that message changed.


----------



## Staples (8 Sep 2010)

Caveat said:


> I think Tubridy is smart, quick, can be witty etc and seems to be well enough informed, but I don't really see him as an academic or intellectual as such.


 
In fairness, his background was in making tea for Gerry Ryan whilst trying to create an "in" for himself.  



Caveat said:


> I bet she's bleedin' *filthy* as well ...


 
Oh, you need help Caveat.


----------



## Purple (8 Sep 2010)

sunrock said:


> The only person who could interview him properly is George Galloway....however I doubt if Blair would allow himself to be interviewed by GG.


 Galloway is a clown of the highest order. He's a sanctimonious hypocrite and the sycophant of a mass murderer.


----------



## sunrock (8 Sep 2010)

Purple said:


> Galloway is a clown of the highest order. He's a sanctimonious hypocrite and the sycophant of a mass murderer.


 
Galloway is a brilliant debater. That is why they give him as little air time as possible despite the fact that he is the leader of the anti war coalition.He cut the silly editor of Mcgill down to size and he would have cut through Blairs glib but plausible answers.
Blair was with Bush directly responsible for more than a million deaths in Iraq. That is a fact.I am not saying whether this is right or wrong, but it is a fact.
I presume that you mean that Galloway was a sycophant of that mass murderer Saddam , but that is an absolute lie.
That accusation was made because Galloway visited Iraq and talked to Saddam, but then so did Cheney who sold weapons and chemicals to Iraq which were used to kill kurds and invade Iran.
The fact is Galloway was protesting outside the British houses of  parliament against Saddam and his regime as the americans and the british were selling him weapons to kill his opponents. Remember that when Saddam was the wests best friend.
I grant you that galloway shares one talent with our own politicians...he can be a clown.


----------



## Firefly (8 Sep 2010)

censuspro said:


> I think he's been asked that once or twice before.


 
Usually he's been asked about why did they invade Iraq, which he replies by going into how Saddamm attacked his own people and the Kurds with chemical weapons etc. Can't say I've heard him answer what he believes was Saddamm's involvement in Sept 11th?


----------

