Guardian Unlimited | World Latest | Britain's Galloway Turns Into Media Hero

Guardian Unlimited | World Latest | Britain's Galloway Turns Into Media Hero: "There is usually no love lost between George Galloway and the British press.

But after the maverick lawmaker's blistering performance before a U.S. Senate committee this week in which he excoriated the Bush administration over Iraq, not even his biggest critics could contain their grudging admiration.

``Galloway: the man who took on America,'' ran a headline in The Independent newspaper on Thursday.
Galloway's combative appearance Tuesday before senators who accused him of taking kickbacks from Saddam Hussein enhanced his status as folk hero among his supporters.

The lawmaker is known, even in the highly articulate world of British politics, for his memorable turns of phrase. On Tuesday, he called the panel of senators a ``lickspittle Republican committee'' and accused them of ``the mother of all smoke screens.''

Upon his return Wednesday, he was given a standing ovation by hundreds of people at a rally in London.

``He blasted the whole of the U.S. Senate,'' said Abdul Khaliq Mian, a member of Respect, the anti-war party founded by Galloway.
Galloway's no-holds-barred testimony won widespread praise in a country where many accuse Prime Minister Tony Blair's government of taking a supine approach to relations with the United States. "

One friend said that Galloway could now set himself up as a successor to Michael Moore, whose documentary, Fahrenheit 911, became a lightning conductor for enemies of President George W Bush.