WASHINGTON — Blarney was gushing from the White House for St. Patrick’s Day. Or at least from its fountains.
First lady Michelle Obama came up with the idea to dye the fountains on the White House’s North and South lawns green, said spokeswoman Katie McCormick Lelyveld. She was inspired by her hometown of Chicago, where the city marks the holiday by dyeing the river green.
President Barack Obama, meanwhile, became “O’Bama” for the day Tuesday as he saluted strong U.S.-Irish ties and met with Irish Prime Minister Brian Cowen in the Oval Office and later with Northern Ireland’s First Minister Peter Robinson and his deputy, Martin McGuinness, in his national security adviser’s office. “I, personally, take great interest on St. Patrick’s Day because, as some of you know, my mother’s family can be traced back to Ireland,” Obama said.
He even joked to Cowen: “We may be cousins. We haven’t sorted that through yet.” The Associated Press
