I spoke with a friend shortly after the speeches by Enda Kenny and Barack Obama in Dublin.
He thought Obama’s speech was better and that Kenny went on too long.
I disagreed; I thought Obama’s speech was a standard, harmless election speech aimed solely at the Irish constituency in the US.
Kenny’s speech, I thought, was passionate and very well delivered. I was aware that he might go on too long but Obama, in the background, seemed to be enjoying the Taoiseach’s contribution.
Now I know why Obama was laughing in the background. It wasn’t from admiration for Kenny’s oratory skills but, probably, from contempt that neither he nor any of his officials were capable of writing an original speech.
What we, and the whole world, witnessed was just another typical Tammany Hall stroke by a gombeen Irish politician.
When the scam was uncovered the reaction was predictable – lies.
The use (theft) of Obama’s words was, we were told, to honour the man. This, of course, is bullshit.
If this was true Obama would have been informed and would have received public and proper credit for his own words.
Once again the Irish people have been disgraced by a political leader.
So what if the words were not Enda’s, at least he looked the part and sounded the part.
Would you have preferred “In facta” Ahearn twittering on incoherently dressed in an anorak or canary yellow trousers or worse maybe both, Or Cowan in one of his drunken states, cause that’s what the previous options were.
I this age of the sound-bite it’s all about image over substance I’d much rather see Enda’s image of an Irishman. He certainly didn’t look foolish or embarrassing.