Barack Obama, of the Moneygall O'bamas

 

I have a special place in my heart for Ireland. My two youngest kids were champion Irish dancers and both visited Ireland to compete in the World Championships. The people of Ireland are generous, happy, and above all, they treasure family. So when they discovered that President Obama has Irish roots, they invited him to visit his ancestral town of Moneygall before giving a great speech to thousands in Dublin.

I've clipped part of the intro leading into his rim shot opener:

"My name is Barack Obama of the Moneygall Obamas. I've come home to find the apostrophe that we lost somewhere along the way."

At the end of his speech, he invoked the ever-familiar "Yes We Can" slogan, while holding Ireland up as an example of a country who has managed to arrive at peace through negotiation. He also reminded me of the candidate Obama in 2008 as he talked about defeating cynicism and naysayers to move ahead.

It was a goodwill speech, and there was much good will, which is a nice reminder of why we elected him.