Why we like the Irish – Barry O’Bama and My Irish Crest

Full disclosure. I identify with the Irish. I like their spunk, directness and terrific sense of humor. Show Date: May 26, 2011.

I even open and close  iTunes versions of this show with Irish music. Undertaking a one-person survey, I asked a close colleague what he thought about the Irish. His response might echo your feelings: “I just like them.”

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My Irish roots.

What is it about Ireland that makes us happy? Lush green fields, epic tales and wistful views of the sea for starters.

Visiting Ireland many years ago, I searched for my Irish roots. Indeed, I found them. It turned out that the Starr family had its very own crest – with a lion at the top and the scales of justice balanced in the center. I was thrilled. The fact that our name was shortened to Starr when my grandfather immigrated from Kiev to America made no difference whatsoever. Clearly, I’m part-Irish.

Let’s not get distracted.

So, like forty million other Irish Americans, I enjoyed President Obama’s trip to Ireland. It was a welcomed break after the minefield drama over Israel’s return to the 1967 borders.

As everyone and their pet should know by now, President Obama gave a major policy address on May 18 stating: “The borders of Israel and Palestine should be based on the 1967 lines with mutually agreed swaps, so that secure and recognized borders are established for both states.” The line referred to Israel’s boundaries before it took control of the West Bank and Gaza Strip after the 1967 Six Day War.

President Obama argued that Israel’s 1967 borders had been the starting point for negotiations for over a decade.” Others countered, “But a U.S. president never said it publicly, thereby putting pressure on Israel.” The media went wild over Israeli Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu’s reaction, Obama’s counter-reaction and Bibi’s counter-counter-response.

Of course, the issue is much more complicated, but let’s not get distracted.

Great-great-great…

The president was cool under fire, knowing that in just a few short hours, he’d be embracing his Irish roots in the charming town of Moneygall (reuniting with the spirit of his great-great-great grandfather – gotcha on that one Shawn Hannity). And the best part: imbibing a glass of Guinness beer in a handsome Irish pub surrounded by real folks.

Americans voters were so weary with ancient borders and truly epic tornadoes that everyone was ready for a drink of ale.

Another friend wrote me, “It’s a good thing they didn’t ask him to kiss the Blarney Stone.”

In fact, I did a show in August, 2010 entitled Bill O’Reilly vs Barak O’Blarney. Turns out that I can see at least 10 months into the future. Yes, I just knew that Barak would one day return home looking for the missing apostrophe in his name.

“And I’ve come home,” Obama told a 25,000-person crowd, “to find the apostrophe that we lost somewhere along the way.”

Of course that was a different era -  when the Democrats were threatening Medicare. Who knew that the Republicans secretly wanted to turn Medicare into an IPO?

One night stand.

But then Obama left Ireland and reality set in. Maureen Dowd of the New York Times captured the sunset moment:

“Swaddled in the afterglow, the Irish are trying to figure out: Was it true love or merely a one-day stand? Not even a whole night, after all, since Barry O’Bama ran off after the ecstatic lovefest, muttering some incredible excuse about a volcanic ash cloud from Iceland. The tall, dark stranger who bewitched an island didn’t say when he’d be calling again to help out with Ireland’s $100 billion debt.”

 

Bill O’Reilly vs Barak O’Blarney – Why Bill O’Reilly Doesn’t Get Barak…

Bill O’Reilly and I have much in common. We’re both political independents. We both detest political charades against “the folks.” Why can’t Bill understand Barak? Listen to my August 19 show or read the post.

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“Incompetence is not being able to do the job. Arrogance is being able to do the job, but saying I don’t care.” ~ Bill O’Reilly

I begin my Rights Radio show (and often end it) with Irish music. I even have a family Irish Crest – the one they make up for tourists. But Bill is the real deal – direct from Irish stock.

I watch his show nightly – through his talking points and guest authors who provide important factual information. Admittedly, I change the channel when Talking Hair types take over the screen – the man-candy experts with bloviating frocks. But I always catch Bill at the end.

Here’s the thing about Bill. I believe he’s truly pained by Obama’s miscalculations, outright mistakes and landmark programs that hurt the folks. He so wants Obama to do the right thing – to succeed – that it singes him personally when the President does just the opposite. Often Bill will lament: “Doesn’t he get it?” Or “Why did he do that?” “Didn’t his advisers warn him?” Or “I just can’t understand him.” “Doesn’t he know that he’s putting distance between himself and the folks on almost every issue?

The main reason that Bill can’t understand Barak is because Bill is an honest man. He speaks to the point and says what he means. Yes, he makes mistakes, but so what. He’s a good guy, a kind person, and there are far too few of those around. He’s a positive human being. I know that he cares about the folks. If you watch him long enough, you’ll feel the same way.

That’s why Bill can’t grasp Barak’s O’Blarney. Obama says what he doesn’t mean, rarely speaks to the point and never makes a mistake. He’s an imperial person who cares a great deal, but few are sure about what. Mostly, he’s impervious to what others think because that’s his true job.

Both have a talent for changing the subject. Bill must change the subject to keep his program moving. Obama changes the subject to keep his agenda moving. But that’s where the similarity ends. Bill responds to crises. Obama creates crises where none existed and remains at the center for as long as possible.

My question for Bill: What makes you think that Barak doesn’t understand that his wife’s vacation to Spain + entourage will generate controversy? Why do you ponder so over his remarks to a Moslem audience about a mosque near Ground Zero – carefully honed words designed to catapult Barak to media magnet of the week? Why are you shocked when he oversells key aspects of the Health Care plan that turn out to be just the opposite?

Isn’t it obvious? O’Blarney is changing the subject – doing precisely what he wants about X while the rest of us focus on Y. And you, Mr. O, keep falling for it. To my mind, it’s not confusing at all. In fact, Barak’s O’Blarney is the most brilliantly crafted messages in American history. Bring down the house while the audience clamors for more.

Maybe it’s time that we all change the channel on Barak’s O’Blarney – where the real message is no message at all.