There has been a lot of press about our Prez in the last couple of days.

It all started when Anti Irish Water protesters shouted names at him.

Now in my book that comes under the chapter "sticks and stones and all that", but the gubmint are taking it seriously and are [of course] involving the law.

I have no real opinion on our Prez.  I grant he is a bit of a token figure and yet another leech on our country's diminished funds, but if we really have to have one then Michael D is a lot better than some of the candidates.  We could have had Dana, for fuck's sake!  The mind boggles.

I treat Michael D for what he is – an irrelevant figurehead that has no real function apart from laying the odd wreath and making a speech or two.  It's a handy job if you can get it.  [You also get a free house in one of Dublin’s public parks.]

Occasionally he does deliver the goods, such as taking a swipe at the gubmint and its abandonment of democracy in favour of appeasing the ratings agencies, so kudos where kudos is due.

The gubmint in the meantime are making great hay out of this name calling lark.  They see it as a great opportunity to try to blacken the name of the protesters, and have even described a bit of name calling as "an attack on the Constitution" which is really stretching things a bit.  I suppose there are some really daft people out there who will decide to pay their bills solely because they don't want to be seen to be rowdies, but you can't account for stupidity.

And what were these terrible names that threaten the very core of our republic?

They called him a traitor, which strictly isn't true as there is fuck all he can do about anything, being just a figurehead.

They called him a "midget parasite".  Midget?  Well, he is slightly vertically challenged.  Parasite?  There is a case to be made there, but I would blame the system rather than Michael D.

Personally I call him The Hobbit.