US President George W Bush wrote a lengthy tribute to Prime Minister Tony Blair on his last day in power on Wednesday, describing him as "a strong guy" and dismissing claims that the British leader acted as his "poodle".
In a two page special in Britain's biggest-selling daily, the Sun, Bush said he had "selfishly" asked Blair - who is handing over power to his former finance minister Gordon Brown - to stay on until he left the White House.
But Bush said Blair has always been "very gracious" about his successor, and when Brown came to visit him in Washington, he "wasn't the image of the dour Scotsman at all".
Blair, who ends his 10-year British premiership more popular in the United States than he is at home, forged an ultimately close partnership with Bush over the issue of Iraq, which the allies invaded in March 2003 to unseat Saddam Hussein.
Bush and Blair had originally seemed an unlikely pairing - particularly with Bush following Blair's natural ally, Bill Clinton, into the White House. But despite one being a rather brash, right-wing Texan and the other a more subdued Brit with socialist roots, Bush said the two men were united and firm in their partnership.
"We've served together during a time of war and shared the same determination to succeed. We analysed the enemy the same way and found each other in the same foxhole," Bush told the tabloid.
Bush described Blair as "very articulate" and admitted to coveting his oratory skills. "I wish I was a better speaker. This guy can really... he can talk!," Bush said.
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