Woof, woof, it's the spirit of Prime Ministers past

Much appalled amusement here this morning about the personal appearance by Tony Blair in the White House Christmas TV show.

In case you have missed it, our former Prime Minister appears in the daydreams of Barney, one of the presidential Scotch terriers who want to be Junior Park Rangers.

Yes.

That is exactly what he does

His big line.

Wait for it.

"Congratulations Barney and Miss Beazley on becoming Junior Park Rangers. Well done.
As someone born in Edinburgh, Scotland, it's always good to see the Scots doing well.

What happens next?

'Barney looks at the camera, tilts his head and a "boing" sound effect is heard. Barney's daydream ends and he's sitting with Miss Beazley on Mrs Bush's lap in front of the Christmas tree in the Blue Room" - or so says the direct-this-yourself-at-home note on the First Website.

Someone said it reminded them of an Aesop's Fable and could I remember which?

I couldn't. I was thinking more about our about spirits of Christmas past than of past Prime Ministers. Join our holiday Dickens debate while it's still fresh.

OK. wasn't there that French surreal movie, the one in which one  poodle appears in another poodle's nightmare - and they all go mad?

I have no idea. Sounds too good to be true.

There is definitely a Sam Shephard play of the early seventies in which a man begins with prophetic dreams of winning race horses, declines into dreaming the winners at dog tracks and finally turns into a dog himself.

But that's not quite right either.

There must be something somehwere like the 'Tony and Barney' show.

We don't like to think of unique horrors of art and politics at the TLS. There is always a precedent.

But maybe, just maybe, Tony Blair's final performance of 2007 is one that has genuinely never been seen or conceived before.