Sarah Sands: We never loved her. She wasn't surprised

As the burden of office slipped from him, Tony Blair seemed to regain the charm of his youth. His eyes were brighter, his make-up peachy, his churchy apology for falling short, disarming. His wife, on the other hand, showed the wear and tear of 10 years in Downing Street. There was a menopausal heaviness about her, a weariness from the batter of insults. She made no lastditch attempt at a reckless outfit or an expensive blow dry. Cherie Blair knew that she was never going to capture the hearts of the British people. If Tony Blair was the indulged son, she was the unwelcome daughter-in-law.

The visceral resistance towards her was for what she represented as well as what she was. Cherie Blair was, like Hillary Clinton, the embodiment of social conflict. Both women retreated from early feminist positions, raising suspicion in both camps. In 2002, Cherie Blair tried to raise the sisterhood to arms (as she does today in another context - see front page), after she was attacked for buying a Bristol flat for her son, Euan, engaging the services of the conman Peter Foster.

"I'm juggling a lot of balls, trying to be a good wife and mother, trying to be the prime ministerial consort at home and abroad and being a barrister, a charity worker; sometimes the balls get dropped," she said. The public response was stony-hearted. She missed no opportunity to parade her achievements. Worse, she passed off greed and poor judgment as the feminist condition.

What was interesting was Tony Blair's reaction to his wife's unwise property deals. He said that he would try to spend more time with her. In other words, he would shoulder the responsibility for his crazy wife along with running the country. Tony Blair has been a stunningly ruthless politician and even his wife took the bullet for him. Cherie Blair did this with grace. For a self-styled stroppy Scouser, she laid down her career and her principles for the Prime Minister. Just like Hillary Clinton, she was academically more gifted than her husband but stood aside for him. Unlike Hillary Clinton, she did not hold this over her husband or try to direct his policy.

As a human rights lawyer, Cherie must have doubted the case for war against Iraq. Yet, apparently, she never tried to dissuade her husband. Clare Short described her bewilderment at being invited by Cherie Blair into her kitchen and then lobbied for her loyalty.

I once quoted to Cherie Blair Mary Wilson's maxim: "Every wife has a duty to influence her husband, especially if he has any power." She deflected the question skillfully: "You may have noticed that the Prime Minister is very much his own man." I interviewed Cherie Blair because she had written a book about Downing Street, The Goldfish Bowl. She mentioned her sympathy for prime ministers' spouses of both political parties. That is unsurprising. It is the nature of the political classes to have more in common with each other than their own supporters.

If Tony Blair felt the dangerous "pull of power," then his wife thrilled to it. Tony Blair's relationship with Gordon Brown was complex, while his wife saw that it was Darwinian from the start. It is extraordinary that the Prime Minister should end up cracking jokes at his last party conference about his wife's poor relationship with his Chancellor. To her, the Blair years were my husband, right or wrong.

Sarah Brown has studied the crass errors of Cherie Blair. She lacks the genetic showbiz streak which always placed Cherie six steps away from karaoke. Also Sarah Brown worked in public relations and therefore understands the power of invisibility. When I once had breakfast with Gordon Brown a door opened, and an adorable child, John, stepped into the room. After a few minutes he was gathered up and removed by his mother. There was no talk of house prices, or how very very bizeee women are today.

Sam Cameron is an even more brilliant foil to Cherie Blair. Here is a mother of three young children, one of whom, Ivan, is disabled and needs constant attention. She is also an extremely successful businesswoman who probably earns more than her husband. But she is younger than Cherie Blair and her career is not a statement.

Cherie Blair is expected to "cash in" once her husband leaves in June and has already registered herself a website: Cherieblair.org.uk. On the Guido Fawkes site, a reader comments: "Is uglygreedyslapper.com still available?"

Nothing ever did become poor old Cherie Blair, not even the leaving of Downing Street.

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