Bush: Blair's no poodle

From The Sun, George Bush explains his relationship with Tony Blair:

As for the pressure he's been under at home over Iraq, I ask him about it, try to buck him up as a friend . . . "Are you doing OK?" But the truth of the matter is each person carries their own burden.

I've heard he’s been called Bush’s poodle. He's bigger than that. This is just background noise, a distraction from big things.

The impact of Bush's denial reminds me of the following apocryphal story about Lyndon Johnson:

When Lyndon Johnson ran for Congress, legend says, he wanted to spread the rumor that his opponent was a pig-fucker. Johnson's campaign manager said, "Lyndon, you know he doesn't do that!" Johnson replied, "I know. I just want to make him deny it."

Sometimes the denial is worser than the accusation.