GREEN IS THE COLOUR
Saturday February 16 2008
JUST as the tangled storylines of 'Dallas' and 'Dynasty' enthralled a nation in the 1980s, the Irish public is tuning in en masse to the realtime soap dramas of the American presidential election.
While the Ewings and the Carringtons captured the imagination of the viewing public, the true-life dramas of the Kennedys, Reagans, Nixons and Clintons, with their many twist and turns, have proved just as fascinating over the years.
Today, the affinity with American presidential candidates continues apace with Barack Obama's claim on Offaly, John McCain's ancestral ties with Antrim and Donegal, and Hillary Clinton's links -- through marriage -- with Fermanagh.
Advisers
They are furrowing a long-established vote route -- 10 of the 43 American presidents have had Irish roots. Such is the voracious bid to win over Irish/Catholic voters that the three surviving contenders have employed Irish-born advisers in the battle for votes and funds. Already, the Irish-American voter has proved crucial to Hillary Clinton's 'comeback' after her bruising encounter in Iowa. And so, in the climatic weeks and months ahead, Obama and McCain will aim to unravel Clinton's perception as the candidate favoured by Irish Americans and will increasingly tap into the core issue of the undocumented Irish abroad.
In an effort not to destabilise any future co-operation on that thorny issue, Taoiseach Bertie Ahern has been careful not to portray loyalty towards any of the three contenders and simply claimed ownership of each.
"Hillary Clinton's a friend," said Mr Ahern recently. "Senator McCain's a friend, too. And Obama comes from Kilkenny," he added (much to the despair of the natives of Moneygall, in Co Offaly, who have claimed him as their native son).
That sense of ownership and affinity to an American president first originated with John F Kennedy, the great-grandson of Irish immigrants and the first and only Irish-Catholic American to be elected as US president.
Kennedy's visit to his ancestral home in New Ross, Co Wexford, in 1963 put the town on the map, just as Ronald Reagan's visit to Ballyporeen, Co Tipperary, put its 300 residents in the spotlight. Not to be outdone, , Republican President Richard Nixon stressed his links to Dublin and Timahoe, Co Laois, on his visit in 1970.
What is no longer assured is the Democrats near monopoly on the Irish-American vote since the Irish-American Republicans played a 'critical role' in overseeing the contentious recount of votes between George Bush and Al Gore in Florida in 2000.
With the emergence of Republican John McCain, the Irish abroad may be tempted to vote for the man who has consistently lobbied on the undocumented Irish issue despite criticisms from his own party.
The battle for the Irish-American vote is now under way. What county lays claim to the 44th president of the United States adds just one more twist to the tale.
- Aine Kerr Political Correspondent
