By William Ekanem, MACTV NEWS
On St. Patrick’s Day during the week, President Barack Obama said that the United States will help Japan to recover and rebuild.
Speaking at a luncheon at the Capitol, Obama described Japan as one of The United States finest allies, adding that as Japan endures a terrible tragedy, “ As Americans, our first instinct naturally has been to help in any way that we can.”
Special guest at the gathering was Irish Prime Minister, Taoiseach Kenny, whose presence Obama acknowledged by saying that, “ today is a day for tens of millions of Americans of Irish descent to celebrate the tremendous influence that one small island with a big-hearted people has had on our country.”
On the funny side he told the Irish Prime Minister that, we thank you for joining us. Your presence at this lunch virtually guarantees that any partisan clashes will be limited to who is more Irish than whom.”
Obama added, “now, speaking of ancestry, there has been some controversy about my own background. Two years into my presidency, some are still bent on peddling rumors about my origins. So today I want to put all those rumors to rest. It is true my great-great-great-grandfather really was from Ireland. It’s true. Moneygall, to be precise. I can’t believe I have to keep pointing this out.”
He enjoined those present at the luncheon, which were mainly political kingpins that “ as servants of the people who sent us here, we can all do better to live up to the example that Tip O’Neill and Ronald Reagan and others often set -– to put the differences of the day aside; to seek common ground; to forge progress for the sake of this country that we love.”
Present at the event were Speaker Boehner, leaders of the GOP and Democrats as well as top government functionaries.
