# I pit the Irish Presidential election **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [September 25, 2011, 6:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-the-irish-presidential-election/597573 "2011-09-25T18:03:29Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Slow\_Moving\_Vehicle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slow_moving_vehicle/32/291_2.png) [@Slow\_Moving\_Vehicle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slow_Moving_Vehicle)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2011, 11:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-the-irish-presidential-election/597573/21 "2011-09-26T11:12:43Z")
You sure you are pitting the _Irish_ presidential election? 4, 5 and 6 aren’t named Perry, Bachman and Romney, by any chance, are they? ---
**Author:** ![BobLibDem](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/boblibdem/32/3149_2.png) [@BobLibDem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobLibDem)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2011, 11:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-the-irish-presidential-election/597573/22 "2011-09-26T11:55:54Z")
Is number 5 Sarah O’Palin? ---
**Author:** ![Hamlet](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hamlet/32/2818_2.png) [@Hamlet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hamlet)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2011, 12:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-the-irish-presidential-election/597573/23 "2011-09-26T12:21:02Z")
Vote for the rich white guy who’ll bend over backward for big business. The US has elected one of them as President in every election for the last 200 years. Luckily now we have a rich black guy who’ll bend over backward for big business. ---
**Author:** ![Darth\_Panda](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ee7513/32.png) [@Darth\_Panda](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darth_Panda)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2011, 12:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-the-irish-presidential-election/597573/24 "2011-09-26T12:40:39Z")
> [@Hamlet](#): > > Vote for the rich white guy who’ll bend over backward for big business. The US has elected one of them as President in every election for the last 200 years. Luckily now we have a rich black guy who’ll bend over backward for big business. Well, according to [this article](http://www.theatlantic.com/business/print/2010/05/the-net-worth-of-the-us-presidents-washington-to-obama/57020/#slide29), some of the ‘poorest’ presidents that we’ve had lately are Jimmy Carter, Harry Truman, and Calvin Coolidge. We might actually want to stick with the richer guys… Maybe we need to try more ethnicities, though. Any Asians or Hispanics running in Ireland this year? ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2011, 2:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-the-irish-presidential-election/597573/25 "2011-09-26T14:02:53Z")
Do you have write-in candidates over there? ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2011, 2:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-the-irish-presidential-election/597573/26 "2011-09-26T14:26:15Z")
Doesn’t Ireland have a parliamentary system? Does it matter who the president is? ---
**Author:** ![An\_Gadai](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d6d6ee/32.png) [@An\_Gadai](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/An_Gadai)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2011, 2:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-the-irish-presidential-election/597573/27 "2011-09-26T14:45:20Z")
> [@Acsenray](#): > > Doesn’t Ireland have a parliamentary system? Does it matter who the president is? Yes, and not really. It’s nice having a President who doesn’t embarrass us. That would be the main criterion I’d be considering when deciding who to vote for. ---
**Author:** ![Scathach](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/aeb1de/32.png) [@Scathach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scathach)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2011, 2:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-the-irish-presidential-election/597573/28 "2011-09-26T14:55:24Z")
> [@Laudenum](#): > > 1. a religious fundamentalist, 5. a woman who ran for the Presidency without reading up on the role, 6. a slightly-less religious-fundamentalist-but-still-pretty-damn conservative boring plank of wood, 7. a closet-FF’er GAH! Actually, can we put names to these ones? I’ve only been paying attention to McGuinness & Norris really. I’m sure one of the religious fundamentalists must be Gay Mitchell, but I don’t know which. And I presume 5 is Mary Davis, but I’m not sure what she did to demonstrate “not reading up on the role.” ---
**Author:** ![eclectic\_wench](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ac91a4/32.png) [@eclectic\_wench](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eclectic_wench)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2011, 4:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-the-irish-presidential-election/597573/29 "2011-09-26T16:20:20Z")
> [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#): > > Do you have write-in candidates over there? Not officially, but one year a turkey hand puppet got so many write-ins that I heard he actually won in some constituencies. \< chanting \> Michael D! Michael D! I love Michael D. Years back, he was giving a furious, impassioned speech in the Dáil and it took me a while to work out what sounded so _off_ about it. The problem was that he meant every word he was saying. I’d never heard a politician do that before. Also, we could make him do all his addresses in rhyming couplets, or limericks, or haiku. ---
**Author:** ![eclectic\_wench](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ac91a4/32.png) [@eclectic\_wench](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eclectic_wench)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2011, 4:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-the-irish-presidential-election/597573/30 "2011-09-26T16:21:23Z")
Doesn’t the closet FFer have to be that irritating guy off Dragon’s Den? ---
**Author:** ![Scathach](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/aeb1de/32.png) [@Scathach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scathach)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2011, 4:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-the-irish-presidential-election/597573/31 "2011-09-26T16:44:25Z")
> [@eclectic\_wench](#): > > Doesn’t the closet FFer have to be that irritating guy off Dragon’s Den? ``` Ah, of course. Surely he won't make much of an impression though? (One hopes anyway!) ``` I’m actually torn. I’d prefer Micheal D. to get it, but I’d nearly vote Norris just to make sure McGuinness doesn’t get it. ---
**Author:** ![eclectic\_wench](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ac91a4/32.png) [@eclectic\_wench](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eclectic_wench)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2011, 4:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-the-irish-presidential-election/597573/32 "2011-09-26T16:51:47Z")
I figure Michael D and Norris will get all each other’s transfers anyway. ---
**Author:** ![ralph124c](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/8797f3/32.png) [@ralph124c](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ralph124c)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2011, 4:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-the-irish-presidential-election/597573/33 "2011-09-26T16:52:46Z")
Does the Irish PM actually do anything? Or is it an office like the US VP-basically a do-nothing job-except that you get to make a fool out of yourself. ---
**Author:** ![An\_Gadai](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d6d6ee/32.png) [@An\_Gadai](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/An_Gadai)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2011, 4:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-the-irish-presidential-election/597573/34 "2011-09-26T16:53:58Z")
I’d be happy enough with Micky D but failing him I’d go with Dave N. By the way since you’re all here when the hell are we having a DubDope? 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Scathach](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/aeb1de/32.png) [@Scathach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scathach)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2011, 4:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-the-irish-presidential-election/597573/35 "2011-09-26T16:58:11Z")
> [@eclectic\_wench](#): > > I figure Michael D and Norris will get all each other’s transfers anyway. Not according to a recent opinion poll anyway - Norris and McGuinness do poorly on transfers. I suppose they’re the most polarising of candidates anyway, if you aren’t for them you’re probably strongly against them. > **[Norris & Higgins lead in Áras race poll](https://www.rte.ie/news/2011/0924/306544-president/)** > > An opinion poll in tomorrow's Sunday Business Post shows strong support for the Presidential bids of Labour’s Michael D Higgins and Senator David Norris. ---
**Author:** ![eclectic\_wench](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ac91a4/32.png) [@eclectic\_wench](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eclectic_wench)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2011, 5:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-the-irish-presidential-election/597573/36 "2011-09-26T17:04:25Z")
> [@ralph124c](#): > > Does the Irish PM actually do anything? > Or is it an office like the US VP-basically a do-nothing job-except that you get to make a fool out of yourself. The PM and the President are two different jobs. The Taoiseach (PM) is the guy in charge. The President basically goes around representing us to other countries - she/he doesn’t have much power. Interesting about Norris doing badly on transfers, Scathach. I figured he’d get a lot of Michael D’s just to keep the others out. Wouldn’t the religious fundamentalist be Dana? (I keep forgetting her, in an if-I-ignore-her-maybe-she’ll-disappear kind of way.) And Gay Mitchell is the plank? ---
**Author:** ![Scathach](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/aeb1de/32.png) [@Scathach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scathach)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2011, 5:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-the-irish-presidential-election/597573/37 "2011-09-26T17:47:01Z")
> [@eclectic\_wench](#): > > The PM and the President are two different jobs. The Taoiseach (PM) is the guy in charge. The President basically goes around representing us to other countries - she/he doesn’t have much power. > > Interesting about Norris doing badly on transfers, Scathach. I figured he’d get a lot of Michael D’s just to keep the others out. > > Wouldn’t the religious fundamentalist be Dana? (I keep forgetting her, in an if-I-ignore-her-maybe-she’ll-disappear kind of way.) And Gay Mitchell is the plank? Difficult to imagine Gay Mitchell being less conservative than someone, but I don’t know much about Dana’s politics. He’s certainly a plank though. ---
**Author:** ![Laudenum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7993a0/32.png) [@Laudenum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Laudenum)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2011, 9:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-the-irish-presidential-election/597573/38 "2011-09-27T09:44:26Z")
The key: 1. Michael D. Higgins 2. David Norris 3. Martin McGuinness 4. Dana Rosemary Scallon 5. Mary Davis 6. Gay Mitchell 7. Sean Gallagher Probably going to have to throw a vote to Gallagher, then bounce it to Mitchell then Davis then we’ll see. ---
**Author:** ![Laudenum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7993a0/32.png) [@Laudenum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Laudenum)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2011, 9:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-the-irish-presidential-election/597573/39 "2011-09-27T09:45:28Z")
> [@Scathach](#): > > Difficult to imagine Gay Mitchell being less conservative than someone, but I don’t know much about Dana’s politics. He’s certainly a plank though. Dana is pretty much the full on shield-banging Catholic - IMO Mitchell would be a better choice. ---
**Author:** ![Laudenum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7993a0/32.png) [@Laudenum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Laudenum)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2011, 9:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-the-irish-presidential-election/597573/40 "2011-09-27T09:48:06Z")
> [@ralph124c](#): > > Does the Irish PM actually do anything? > Or is it an office like the US VP-basically a do-nothing job-except that you get to make a fool out of yourself. It’s the President, which mostly represents us abroad, and she has several interesting powers. For instance, the biggest power is the ability to refer legislation to the Supreme Court to test it’s constitutionality - if it is held to be constitutional, then it can never be challenged again. It is mostly a figurehead role though [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-the-irish-presidential-election/597573.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-the-irish-presidential-election/597573.md?page=3)