youngdan's world of wonder

Kate P wrote:

Let it rest if you wish; I certainly have no intention of 'pasting' you or your arguments.

In the catalogue of evil politicians his offences, while significant in their own right, pale into insignificance when you consider the Mé Féinism of Mugabe, the king of Swaziland, Pol Pot, etc.

And if we were to punish everyone who lives their lives by the Mé Féin rule, who would escape whipping? Still Bertie is no martyr.

Leaving aside the personal finance issues, there are those who would argue that he is responsible for closing the deal that has brought about peace in Northern Ireland, he has brought considerable economic peace through partnership and through his role when Ireland held the EU presidency showed that Ireland can be a considerable political and negotiating power. You could argue those points. It's undeniable however, that he brought the office of the taoiseach into every home in the country through his affable, accessible way of doing political business. He's not a political crank. He has never done hissy fits.

Anyone in Bertie's position would probably have behaved in a similar way when his mother was buried, I'm not sure that he deserves great praise for that even if it merits a degree of admiration. But I was interested to hear Mary Harney describe his dedication to the work by phoning her at 5.30am when he might have been speaking to her at 11.30pm the night before. I recently heard a close political adviser of Tony Blair speaking on Ryan Tubridy's programme saying that Blair had none of that intensity of engagement with the task.

Olivia O'Leary also made the point in her radio column yesterday that the prospect of Bertie being 'at home' is an unusual one because he has always been working. To accuse him of pure Mé Féinism is stretching the bounds of credibility.

I'm not a Bertie apologist but I think it's important to be fair in assessing him.

I just don't see it like that. I think the avuncular jocularity was a false front and that Ahern was a very carefully 'branded' politician. The constant pancake on the face does not sit well with the notion of an affable lad who would fit easily into our front rooms. Haughey, who knew him well, famously described him as the "most devious, the most skilful, the most cunning of them all".

Ahern's economic legacy was to squander the much of the opportunity of the boom on vanity projects and waste, while overseeing a radical increase in economic and social division in the country.

The GFA debate is perhaps for another day, but I would say that Albert Reynolds had greater impact on the process than Bertie who largely rode an existing process driven the the UK / SF.

There is nothing "personal" about finances when a person takes money that is given to him solely because of his political office and power.

I am not calling him a mass murderer or dictator, so I can't see what Pol Pot etc. has got to do with it.

I just hope we can do better next time.

Time for a new piece of wonderment. There has been an attempt of late to spread a vile rumour about the saintly Barrack. The mainstream have not touched it. However it seems that a very popular show in Puerta Rica has aired the following. Would Hillary be this low just to grab power. What a shocking thought. wapa.tv — Espanol subtitles on Puerto Rico T.V. entertainment program covering Larry Sinclair, Obama Barrack drugs, and sex allegations. ...
digg.com/2008_us_elections/ESPANOL_T_V_Larry_Sinclair - 20k - Cached - Similar pages