Breakfast with Barack
Well not quite, but the US Consul Susan Elliot did organise a breakfast event at the Stormont Hotel this morning. Some of you may have heard my colleague Wendy Austin broadcasting on Good Morning Ulster from the event.
The Consul is reassuring anyone who asks that the new administration will continue to appoint a US Special Envoy to succeed Paula Dobriansky. During the campaign Senator Obama questioned the need for an Envoy, but later went back on that stance after running into opposition from Irish Americans.
The President Elect will now work on his policies and personnel in the run up to his inauguration on January 20th. There are rumours that Caroline Kennedy could be his ambassador in London, which would represent pay back for the Kennedys' support during his battle against Hillary Clinton. At the same time it might be a little ironic, as the to occupy this post was associated with isolationism and appeasement, a stance which Senator Obama roundly attacks in his book "The Audacity of Hope".
Flicking through the book overnight I was struck by how the President Elect's belief in multilateralism and "soft power" might draw him towards a greater emphasis on conflict resolution. Here are a few quotes. "We have an obligation to engage in efforts to bring about peace in the Middle East, not only for the benefit of the people of the region, but for the safety and security of our children as well". "We will have to go beyond a more prudent use of military force. We will have to align our policies to help reduce the spheres of insecurity, poverty and violence around the world". And finally "the struggle against Islamic based terrorism will be not simply a military campaign but a battle for public opinion in the Islamic world, among our allies and in the United States".
The First and Deputy First Minister have joined just about every other politician in the world in congratulating the President Elect. On Monday, the DFM was talking about conflict resolution when he answered questions about the future of the Maze site. The location remains highly contentious but the kind of work he envisages for dovetails with some of the President Elect's analysis.
So could our future relationship with the United States involve more emphasis on what me might be able to give the rest of the world, rather than what we might take? One barometer of how far down the agenda of the new administration we are will be how the new President chooses to play his first St Patrick's Day, just a couple of months after he takes office.
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