Franco Still Dead, Tony Blair Still Alive

Haven't we been hearing the "dead man walking" stuff about Tony Blair for a while now? And haven't reports of his political passing been, so to speak, greatly exaggerated? I mean, yes, the guy is going to stand down/step down sometime soon, but he's going out on his own terms and (more or less) at the time of his choosing. That may not sound like much but it's more than you can say for Richard Nixon, Paul Wolfowitz, Al Gonzales (hopefully), and Lyndon Johnson, whom Blair will come to resemble more and more as his premiereship recedes into the gloaming of retrospect.