Tony Booth - father-in-law to PM - on Iraq
db: Father to Cherie Booth, father-in-law to our neocon PM, Tony Booth - who played the lay-about with a conscience Mike in Till Death Us Do Part [remade as All In The Family in the US] - is interviewed by Robert Chalmers. The clip below is Booth talking about Iraq - the rest of the article is also worth reading for the laughs [see link below].
independent: Tony Booth: Confessions of a loose cannon
When I ask him what qualities he thinks he shares with Cherie, he replies: "I guess people would say: 'the mad eyes and the jaw line.' "
Politically, they don't appear to be converging. My host is an unreconstructed pacifist and socialist, appalled by his son-in-law's catastrophic adventure in Iraq. There are 22 years between Tony Booth (omega) and his son-in-law; if you had encountered their opinions only on paper, you would assume Booth's to be the voice of youthful revolt, and Blair's to be the weary pragmatism of age. Their differences were curiously anticipated by Booth's defining role as Mike, son-in-law to Warren Mitchell's reactionary cockney, Alf Garnett, in the groundbreaking BBC comedy Till Death Us Do Part, which ran from 1966 to 1975.
"The world is at war," Mike told his bigoted father-in-law, in one episode. "And pensioners are struggling to exist - abandoned by the moribund policies of your bloody government."
When Booth - who has campaigned for Labour in every election since 1945 - speaks about politics, he appears to be stifling his instincts out of duty, like a guide dog eyeing a rabbit he can't chase. Once we start talking about Iraq, something changes: it's not long before Booth has taken off at speed, with his leash trailing behind him.
"This is not a moral conflict," Booth says. "This war is about the poor people in the world. Some countries are rolling in riches, using up all the energy..."
"Halliburton..." I begin.
"Yes," he interrupts, "I know all about Halliburton. The rest of the world is starving. We respond with token gestures. But Cheney and Bush are in serious trouble because of Iraq."
"Not just Cheney and Bush."
"Sure. But in America a leader has only two terms. In Britain, when a party rules for a great length of time... it runs out of ideas. It runs out of steam. It runs out of honour, in the end."
Booth advocates immediate withdrawal. His son-in-law, I suggest, is guilty of precipitating civil war by supporting the US invasion.
"Yes."
"So the consequences of this war become 'our' responsibility."
"Look," Booth says, "this is ridiculous. You and I know what this whole war was about. It was about oil."
"Do you think Tony Blair knew that?"
A very long pause.
"That question," says Booth, "is what is called a googly."
"It's straightforward enough."
"Yes. But... er... right," says Booth, coming back on-message, "Occupying forces cannot stay anywhere when the population is opposed to them. No matter how many weapons they have." Read more
independent: Tony Booth: Confessions of a loose cannon
When I ask him what qualities he thinks he shares with Cherie, he replies: "I guess people would say: 'the mad eyes and the jaw line.' "
Politically, they don't appear to be converging. My host is an unreconstructed pacifist and socialist, appalled by his son-in-law's catastrophic adventure in Iraq. There are 22 years between Tony Booth (omega) and his son-in-law; if you had encountered their opinions only on paper, you would assume Booth's to be the voice of youthful revolt, and Blair's to be the weary pragmatism of age. Their differences were curiously anticipated by Booth's defining role as Mike, son-in-law to Warren Mitchell's reactionary cockney, Alf Garnett, in the groundbreaking BBC comedy Till Death Us Do Part, which ran from 1966 to 1975.
"The world is at war," Mike told his bigoted father-in-law, in one episode. "And pensioners are struggling to exist - abandoned by the moribund policies of your bloody government."
When Booth - who has campaigned for Labour in every election since 1945 - speaks about politics, he appears to be stifling his instincts out of duty, like a guide dog eyeing a rabbit he can't chase. Once we start talking about Iraq, something changes: it's not long before Booth has taken off at speed, with his leash trailing behind him.
"This is not a moral conflict," Booth says. "This war is about the poor people in the world. Some countries are rolling in riches, using up all the energy..."
"Halliburton..." I begin.
"Yes," he interrupts, "I know all about Halliburton. The rest of the world is starving. We respond with token gestures. But Cheney and Bush are in serious trouble because of Iraq."
"Not just Cheney and Bush."
"Sure. But in America a leader has only two terms. In Britain, when a party rules for a great length of time... it runs out of ideas. It runs out of steam. It runs out of honour, in the end."
Booth advocates immediate withdrawal. His son-in-law, I suggest, is guilty of precipitating civil war by supporting the US invasion.
"Yes."
"So the consequences of this war become 'our' responsibility."
"Look," Booth says, "this is ridiculous. You and I know what this whole war was about. It was about oil."
"Do you think Tony Blair knew that?"
A very long pause.
"That question," says Booth, "is what is called a googly."
"It's straightforward enough."
"Yes. But... er... right," says Booth, coming back on-message, "Occupying forces cannot stay anywhere when the population is opposed to them. No matter how many weapons they have." Read more
posted by exoplanet at 6:30 PM
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