McCain Up for Reform

Senator John McCain was in fine form at his Christmas party in Washington earlier this week, and he had specific words of encouragement for his Irish guests during a brief meeting.

McCain made it clear that he believes immigration reform is a definite starter in this session of Congress coming up. “We can definitely do it in 2007,” he said.

McCain paid tribute to Senator Edward Kennedy, who he said was in the vanguard in the new effort to bring immigration reform to fruition.

“Ted is wonderful on this issue,” he said. “I’ve never seen him so determined to make something happen.”

McCain’s advice for the Irish Lobby for Immigration Reform (ILIR) was to keep the pressure up on party leaders, such as Harry Reid in the Senate, and Nancy Pelosi in the House, to ensure that more than lip service was paid to the immigration issue.

He also revealed that he had had discussions with British Prime Minster Tony Blair on Northern Ireland and that he stood ready to help in any way he could. He was clearly well up to date on developments there and considered recent events to be positive in the main.

A few years back McCain incensed Sinn Fein with a speech at the American Ireland Fund dinner which castigated them as Gerry Adams sat and listened. Since then there are clear signs that McCain more fully understands the nuances of the North and has taken a better position.

Doubtless, with a presidential run looming, it is an issue he will be studying more.

Barack Fever Sweeps Media

The great and the good in the media world were present at the McCain bash, held at the Corcoran Gallery in D.C. It was amazing to hear the Washington consensus that it is Barack Obama, and not Senator Hillary Clinton, who is the de facto front runner for the Democratic nomination.

New York Times columnist Maureen Dowd admitted that Barack fever is sweeping the Potomac and that media types consider him a great story, which is one of the reasons they are playing up his chances.

There is also a media fatigue with Clinton, similar to what happened Gore in 2000 when the media began to turn on him for no other obvious reason than the fact they had tired of him and had nothing new to say about him.

So if the media consensus is to be believed, Clinton will have her hands full with the senator from Illinois if he runs. However, Obama should tread warily. These media boomlets go off every so often (remember General Wesley Clark in 2004?) and can disappear as quickly as they are manufactured.

Clinton, on the other hand, has stood the test of time. It is certain that she will now run, and never underestimate the fact that her de facto campaign manager, husband Bill, is the greatest strategist in the game.

At this time in 1990 before his first run he was a mere afterthought in presidential politics, and George Bush Senior looked like a shoo-in for a second term.

We all know what happened next. It is entirely possible there could be another guerilla candidate out there in the long grass ready to pounce if the frontrunners falter.

Winning Strategy

The reason the media believe that Obama can win revolves around the early primaries. Iowa, as they point out, is next door to Illinois, which will give him a built in advantage. Then he can pick up South Carolina which has a major black population that votes in the Democratic primary.

Clinton, meanwhile, seems to be avoiding a field organization in Iowa, conceding it to favorite son Governor Tom Vilsack. She might have problems in Nevada where John Edwards has a lock on organized labor, leaving only New Hampshire as her jumping off point.

If she cannot beat Obama in South Carolina then she would be in major trouble — or so the pundits say a full year and more before all this begins to unfold.

Down Memory Lane

While Mem’ry Brings Us Back Again is the book published by the Aisling Irish Center in Yonkers, which relates the stories of 35 Irish emigrants who came to America mainly throughout the first half of the last century.

It is a wonderful book full of the kind of reminisces that fill in vital parts of the history of the Irish community in America for those who wish to know.

The stories of dancing on the ships is a universal one, as was the entertainment in New York. There were two ballrooms, the Jaeger House and the City Center, both in Manhattan. Jaeger House it seems was for a rougher crowd, while the City Center was a Mecca during Lent when Irish bands who could not play at home during that period came out to play live. Thousands flocked to them.

There are also some amazing personal stories. Sean Fleming we only know as the incredibly popular musician and bar owner. Most never knew he spent several harrowing years in Vietnam.

Equally, the life stories of such Irish institutions as Denis Mulcahy of Project Children, Terry Connaughton of the GAA and Bill Burke of Country Bank give us valuable insight into leaders in our community. Therese Crowe, the doyenne of Gaelic Park also contributes a valuable profile.

It can be ordered at www.aislingcenter.org.