Madam, - Given the po-faced response to date to Vincent Browne's views on the McAleese presidency, I'm writing to say that I found his column of August 25th highly entertaining.
I too am mystified by the generally hagiographical treatment of what seems to me to be a pedestrian presidential term.
As President, Mrs McAleese is invariably warm, fluent and competent. But the intellectual content of her utterances is remarkably banal for someone of her ability and achievement. I think Vincent Browne is right. It looks as if Mrs McAleese routinely trots out the mix of platitudes and non sequiturs she is given by the relevant Government Department rather than applying her own analysis to issues.
I am also sceptical about the vaunted "building bridges" theme. It seems to me that much of President McAleese's outreach towards individuals and communities in Northern Ireland is aimed at overcoming their perceptions about her personal baggage rather than their distaste for the office of President of Ireland. Mrs McAleese, it seems to me, has chosen not to be an independent voice of principle, but instead, as Vincent Browne says, has settled for merely being "a safe pair of hands" - Yours, etc.,
COLETTE ROBINSON, Gracepark Gardens, Dublin 9.