Over on his blog the BBC's chief political correspondent Nick Robinson posts a revealing PS about Blair's second appearance before the Chilcot Inquiry into the Iraq war.

What is emerging before our eyes is a clash of cultures between a politician who believes governing is, in the end, about one man's judgement and the Whitehall classes who believe it should be about official papers, formal consideration of the evidence and collective decision making.

This is appalling. The word for government being one man's judgement is dictatorship. This is not a mere "clash of cultures" (as in 'do you prefer a sofa to a table?'). And Blair has made it clear it is not a matter of judgement. Judgement demands a larger process such as the assessment of evidence and a demand for different options. What Blair has always fallen back on is the sincerity of his belief or gut instinct; again an attribute of dictatorship. 

Another aspect to Nick Robinson's attitude, which I am sure is shared across the political class of which he is an outstanding member, democracy does not come into it. One part of the Whitehall elite still clings to the need for process and a return to its Establishment codes. As a choice between this and Blairism it is quite right. But it lacks the language to gain popular support for what is an elite form of rule.

I suspect this lies behind the Chilcot Inquiry taking itself seriously in a way it was not supposed to do, when it was set up under New Labour. The fact is that the Iraq War was a massive catastrophe for the way the UK is governed. It was illegal, but the government went ahead. It was a military folly, but the warnings were not heeded. It was based on patently ridiculous 'intelligence warnings'. There were clear distortions of the truth, aka lies, (one example will suffice, Saddam could not have been manufacturing chemical weapons but Blair said he was; I have written a lot about this here in oD). Above all, the decision was profoundly undemocratic, voters did not want it and were wiser than the elite in their - I can proudly say our - judgement. This is especially damaging as the British system, while not a modern constitutional democracy, has been based on the rule of law and popular consent from the 19th century, before democracy as we know it, with universal franchise, existed anywhere. 

People have complained that the Chilcot Inquiry does not have a clear brief. But its role has now turned into an inquiry as to whether the legitimacy of British government can be restored.

Note, never mind about democracy.

Of course, it needs a wider remit. When it was announced that Blair was being recalled, was I alone in thinking back to his being the first serving Prime Minister to be questioned under caution by the police and then questioned again?

Which leads on to more news of the day: Coulson's resignation as Cameron's media henchperson.

First of all, a round of well-deserved applause for Nick Davies at the Guardian and his editor Alan Rusbridger's support.

I was confident Coulson was doomed when, before the election, the Observer ran what I described at the time as a "towering" guest column by Peter Oborne. He warned Cameron, whom he supports, not to keep Coulson as his spin doctor should he win the election, as Coulson had been "presiding over what can only be described as a flourishing criminal concern".

The question is why indeed did Cameron appoint him? Oborne asks this again with knobs on today in the Telegraph.

The answer loops us right back to Nick Robinson's inability to see dictatorship when it mushrooms before his eyes. Cameron thinks that Blair was a successful example of how to govern.

There was a very striking contrast last weekend. In a thoughtful speech to the Fabians which I hope to return to, Ed Miliband told his party how it had misgoverned when in power despite the good things it achieved. He put clear water between himself and his party predecessors. That was Saturday. Come Monday, David Cameron in his big speech justifies his reckless approach to public service reform by praying in aid Tony Blair and only Tony Blair, the "you know", short-circuit dictator himself.

Coulson would have signed off on that Cameron speech and how it would play in the media as one of his last official acts. Perhaps the question Robinson should have been asking is, who represents continuity and who a change of government!