As you point out, Tony Blair remains ahead of others in the race for the first president of the European Council, but he faces plenty of competition (“The Presidency Stakes,” October 10, 2009). A year and a half ago you listed Jean-Claude Juncker of Luxemburg, Wolfgang Schüssel of Austria, and Anders Fogh Rasmussen of Denmark (“The Other Presidential Race,” April 19, 2008). Two months ago you listed Felipe Ganzáles of Spain, Paavo Lipponen of Finland, and Wolfgang Schüssel (“Unwelcome, President Blair,” August 1, 2009). Now you list Felipe Ganzáles, François Fillon of France, Jan Peter Balkenende of the Netherlands, Paavo Lipponen, Martti Ahtisaari of Finland, Herman van Rompuy of Belgium, and Jean-Claude Juncker. The competition is doubtless growing, but Blair remains the only heavy-hitter on the list. Throughout, I have been convinced that Blair is the right man for the job primarily because of his prowess with his American counterpart. Barack Obama is no George Bush, but the White House is still the White House. And Europe’s future is still closely bound with that of America. If the Eurocrats fail to understand this simple fact of life and choose someone else for president, the future of Europe is indeed in question.