As the US elections draw nearer, the presidential candidates and Irish-American politicians are falling over themselves to show active concern for the peace process in Northern Ireland.
But the chorus from the Gore and Bush campaigns and this week from Capitol Hill for "full implementation" of the Patten recommendations for reform of the RUC will not be welcomed by UUP leader David Trimble, who largely blames the Patten blueprint for his party's defeat in South Antrim.
Here in the US, 100 per cent proof Patten has become a catchcry among politicians seeking the Irish-American vote. It came to a climax this week as the 435 members of the House of Representatives voted unanimously to call on the British government "to fully and faithfully" implement Patten.
The Republican Speaker of the House, Dennis Hastert, put out a separate statement saying "too many citizens in Northern Ireland simply do not trust the RUC. It must be overhauled in such a way that builds trust in both communities. The Patten Commission showed the way to achieve those reforms. The British government should fully implement those reforms."
Earlier in the week Vice-President Al Gore put out a statement from his campaign headquarters saying, "I urge the British government to fully and expeditiously implement" the Patten reforms. But therein lies a tale.
President Clinton's personal involvement in the peace process over the past eight years has been a trump card for Democrats seeking the votes of Irish-Americans, of whom there are an estimated 45 million. Republicans were depicted as pro-British, anti-Sinn Fein and with little interest in Northern Ireland.
This summer, the complacent Democrats got a shock. A new organisation called "Irish for Bush" worked closely with Irish-American Republican members of Congress to get a strong Northern Ireland policy statement at their convention urging "complete implementation" of Patten, a special envoy if needed, and action on former IRA members threatened with deportation.
The Democratic convention statement, in contrast, was a vague paragraph on Northern Ireland stating "our goal is not merely the laying down of arms but the joining together of hands in a new political relationship that enables former rivals to govern and thrive together".
All hell broke loose among Irish-American Democratic activists. Was this all they could expect from a President Gore on Northern Ireland after the golden era of Clinton love-speak? How could the Gore campaign have let George W. Bush upstage them on Ireland?
The anger was expressed by the editor of the Irish Voice, Niall O'Dowd, in his weekly column, where, under the headline "Gore Blows it on Irish Platform", he denounced "possibly the most anodyne and useless statements in the history of the Democratic Party on Ireland, ones that stand in deep contrast to the excellent platform adopted by the Republican Party".
As the main Irish-American organisations joined in the clamour, alarm bells rang in the White House. Get the Irish-Americans back on board. Do something, the Gore campaign was ordered.
Gore's chief foreign policy adviser, Leon Fuerth, was blamed rightly or wrongly for letting the Republicans play the Green Card which up to now has been a Democratic preserve in presidential elections.
George Bush twisted the knife further by sending a personal letter to the Taoiseach, beginning familiarly "Dear Bertie". Similar letters were delivered to Northern Ireland ministers David Trimble and Seamus Mallon, saying "you may be assured of my personal interest and full commitment to helping move the peace process forward".
Bush wrote that he was "ready, if necessary, to appoint a special envoy to further facilitate the search for lasting peace, justice and reconciliation". And, of course, Bush supported "the full implementation" of Patten.
THE Washington Irish-American Democrats group, headed by Stella O'Leary, which has been campaigning for the past 18 months for Gore, called a forum for this week where Leon Fuerth and prominent Democrats could discuss how the outcome of the November election "will impact on the peace process" but in reality to tell them, "relax, Gore is OK on Northern Ireland."
There was a high-powered platform, including George Mitchell, Senator Chris Dodd, Secretary of Education Richard Riley and senior members of the House of Representatives. But no Leon Fuerth. At the last minute the White House legal adviser had ruled that as a member of the Vice-President's official staff he could not speak at a political function but he was allowed to circulate at the buffet afterwards for "informal" chats.
But is Northern Ireland a genuine issue for Irish-Americans in this election? In an interview with The Irish Times before the forum, George Mitchell was doubtful.
"One of the things that astonished me in Northern Ireland, London and Dublin when I met political leaders there was the expression by some that the issue would be decisive in the American political process.
"But you know after your years in America that it is not a decisive issue, that it is not likely to be the subject of a question in any one of the [presidential] debates. It isn't mentioned in standard speeches by the candidates before a general audience."
Mitchell went on: "As an Irish-American I don't base my decision on what's occurring in Ireland, and I love Ireland. I base my decision on what's in the best interest of America, and most Irish-Americans, like Americans of other heritages, operate on the same principle."
In Ireland, "there is a tendency on both sides to exaggerate our role and by others to minimise it," Mitchell said. But as a good Democrat, he insisted that Gore would "make a huge personal difference" for the peace process if elected over Bush.