Editorial : The Irish and Obama

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Editorial / Periscope - Niall O'Dowd

Editorial : The Irish and Obama

January 24, 2008

IRISH-born Samantha Power is a key foreign policy aide to Senator Barack Obama. She was asked in Ireland’s Sunday Business Post this week about Obama’s interest in Irish issues and how he intends to reach out.

Her answer was somewhat surprising. “When asked about Obama’s relationship with the Irish, Power said that Obama did not want to peel off groups — such as the Irish and women — and start pandering to them. She said he preferred to deal with the issues as they affected everyone in the country, and not pigeonhole them into categories,” the paper reported.

That seems a very shortsighted approach by the Obama team to a constituency that could be helpful to him. After all, isn’t that what elections are about, managing to win support from different groups by putting forward policies that are of interest to them? Or is there some new-fangled type of politics where what people feel passionate about is no longer important?

There are issues of concern to Irish Americans such as the immigration issue. We currently have a situation where there are tens of thousands of Irish undocumented in America.

Obama has an excellent position on the issue. Why not put that forward as a policy stance on where he stands with Irish Americans?

Also on Northern Ireland, there is still a great and continuing need for American involvement in ensuring that the peace process beds down on a permanent basis. Surely Obama should have a position on that?

One wonders if the question were about Jewish Americans would Power have been quite so dismissive of the need to reach out to them. You can bet your bottom dollar the answer would be entirely different.

Indeed, Obama, after early support for Palestinian issues during his time as a state senator in Illinois, has radically changed his views on the issue and came out strongly with a pro-Israeli line once he began his run for the White House.

That is the reality of American politics, that one has to constantly assuage different interest groups while, at the same time, developing a world vision that reflects American core interests. The world vision thing is fine except, as Tip O’Neill once remarked, all politics is local.

There were a slew of stories in the national media earlier this year about Obama’s Irish roots through his mother’s side.

In The Sunday Business Post Power stated, “He was extremely proud to learn of his Irish ancestry. If he gets elected, one of the first trips he will be taking is to Ireland. I have discussed going to Ireland with him, and he really wants to do that.

‘’However, the Irish are hugely passionate about the Clintons and I know many of them are very nostalgic about seeing them back in the White House. It took a while for Obama to penetrate that, but when I visit Ireland (twice in the last year), I can see the hunger there for something fresh. They are torn between the old, comfortable and familiar, and real change in the way Americans do business abroad,” added Power.

Fair point, but is it really pandering, given that goodwill for the candidate, to have positions on Irish issues which are mindful of the interest of millions of Irish Americans?

On a purely self-centered basis, the fact that Senator Hillary Clinton’s campaign is expected to raise over $2 million from Irish Americans specifically this year is evidence enough that the issue is very important to a large number of people. Perhaps Obama should rethink his need for an Irish platform.

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