William Jefferson Clinton is a consummate politician and sound-bite practitioner. It was evident in his Northern Ireland performances and, especially, in his concerned comments on the Swissair disaster.
So, when a man of his stature declares before a Dublin audience, "Without Bertie Ahern, peace would not have happened, in my view ", the recipient of the compliment is entitled to blush. And Bertie did look stressed about the collar.
The incident, and the easy, "touchy-feelie" familiarity both men exhibited in public reflected a comfortable relationship and an awareness of a job well done.
President Clinton, under enormous pressure at home because of the Lewinsky affair, was visiting the scene of his greatest foreign policy success. And there was no question of Irish hospitality being lacking.
Lavish praise was bestowed on the contribution Mr Clinton had made to the peace process during his two terms as US President. His interest and involvement had been hugely significant, the Taoiseach said. The helping hand of the US was always there in the hour of need. And there were many such hours. Dark hours.
The current visit had helped to compress political events in the aftermath of the Omagh bombing and to move the peace process forward.
Mr Clinton was careful not to act the big fish in the small pond. No overt attempt was made to publicly pressurise David Trimble or Gerry Adams at this delicate time. But the President clearly believed an event would take place next week - apart from the expected face-to-face meeting between Mr Trimble and Mr Adams - that would provide further momentum for the full implementation of the Belfast Agreement.
And he was determined the agreement - which could provide a template for conflict resolution in the rest of the world - would be implemented in all its aspects.
As the day wore on, the focus shifted to economic matters. The US had acted as midwife to the Belfast Agreement and the Taoiseach suggested we could repay some of that debt by sharing the Irish experience of social partnership-led growth with the US.
But while Mr Ahern offered Ireland's 10 years of social partnership and high growth rates as a model, he was careful to underline the contribution that US multinationals had made to our export performances. They dominated our electronics, information technology, pharmaceutical and health sectors and employed 74,000 people.
In private, Mr Ahern sought President Clinton's assessment of the Russian crisis and the threatening collapse of Far Eastern economies. With global markets in turmoil and international recession a possibility, he sought reassurances on continuing American goodwill. In particular, quiet lobbying took place to ensure that the special tax arrangements that US companies enjoy on their repatriated profits should continue.
Looking after multinational geese that lay golden eggs has been of concern to Irish governments since the time of Sean Lemass. And, given the special relationship established with Mr Clinton, he is unlikely to rain on our parade.
Success is the touchstone of American life. And Mr Clinton basked in a measure of it yesterday; not only in relation to the Belfast Agreement, but in the contribution US companies had made to the growth of the Celtic Tiger. He praised the openness of our economy; our willingness to encourage ventures from around the world; our social partnership model and the highest economic growth rate in Europe.
For his part, Mr Ahern wanted more. Bringing Mr Clinton to the Gateway computer complex, he scored a notable first in electronic terms with the signing of a US-Ireland agreement on the use of electronic commerce by means of "smart cards", with embedded microchips and a mathematical code to identify the signature.
If Ms Mary O'Rourke and the Government have their way, Ireland will become a hub for e-commerce in the world. A high-powered US-Irish committee of computer/information technology experts has been working on the project for months and it was a good, old-fashioned political stroke to recruit Mr Clinton to the cause.
The first digital signing of an international agreement marked the determination of the two governments to support a uniform commercial legal framework that would recognise and enforce electronic transactions worldwide. The acceptability of electronic signatures for legal and commercial purposes was the first step; after that it was a case of encouraging companies to trade internationally through e-commerce.
It looked like the future. And everybody hoped it would work.
On a more mundane level, the Taoiseach emphasised the importance of US investment and technical know-how, in a range of industries, to the Irish economy. And he worked hard to consolidate the positive relationship that has been developed with this US President. For, as Mr Clinton said pointedly, he will be in office until 2001.
Rumblings of possible changes in US tax laws which apply to multinationals were assessed and, insofar as was possible, countered. The Irish economy was certainly bounding ahead, but it was vulnerable to international change.
As the economic storm clouds gathered, friends were required in high places. And Mr Clinton certainly fitted the bill.
It looked like being another "win win" situation.