My friend, John Cullinane, is one of the most successful Irish business people in American history. Forty years ago, he began a successful computer software business that soon dominated the field. He is also a great philanthropist who made a singular contribution to peace in Northern Ireland and is seeking to do the same in Israel-Palestine.

The following is a letter he has sent out to his friends on Barack Obama's behalf. I think it is worth sharing with yours (especially if they are of Irish descent).

MJ,
If I were asked to summarize the candidates' relative strengths in a few words, they would be that John McCain has considerable experience but very poor judgment, and that Barack Obama has limited experience but very good judgment, and good judgment wins over experience, every time.

I saw it first hand in my company, Cullinane Corporation, which was the first successful software products company in the world. As such, there was no one tell us how to do it, or books by experts to read, we just had to figure it out as we went along. That's when I learned that the most important characteristic of any employee was good judgment. As a result, I would constantly look for employees with it, regardless of their position, experience, etc. and promote them. This often included secretaries who went on to become important executives in the company. I don't think Carly Fiorina would have ever made it in my company.

The question then is, how do you identify someone who has good judgment vs someone who doesn't?

Well, you begin to notice a pattern. For example, in John McCain's case he was intimately involved in the great savings and loan debacle. Yet, he didn't learn anything from the experience about the importance of regulation, even though the American taxpayers had to pick up a $300 billion tab, and his friends went to jail. The great economic disaster on Wall Street was brought about, again, by de-regulation promoted by John, and his chief economic advisor, Phillip Gramm.

Just this week he parachuted into the highly sensitive bailout negotiations in Washington and almost derailed them. He selected Sarah Palin as VP when he really wanted Joe Lieberman and Joe would have been even a bigger disaster than Palin. When it comes to Ireland, John McCain, believe it or not, trashed President Clinton's efforts to secure peace in Northern Ireland. He also called the International Fund for Ireland, an important job creating agency in Northern Ireland, and the six border counties, "pork".

In contrast, if you look at Barack Obama, he has a pattern of good judgment. It shows in his personal life, his opposition to the Iraq war, his focus on Afghanistan, his selection of Joe Biden as VP, his recruitment of the economic team that helped create the greatest economic boom in the history of America to help him solve America's economic problems. These are all perfect examples of good judgment. However, in the final analysis, Irish Americans, as do most voters, like to vote for candidates whom they can relate to, and they can to Obama, because:

-- He's the embodiment of the American dream and has the ability to inspire anyone.
-- His mother has strong Irish roots, he came up the hard way, and didn't forget were he came from.
-- He's smart, and well educated. The Irish admire intelligence and cherish education because they were once denied it.
-- He's tough, articulate, and persuasive -- he had to be to succeed on the South Side of Chicago.
-- He's a man of faith and strong family values.

Those wishing to help elect Obama/Biden, and save America for our children, and grandchildren, please forward this email to your own set of contacts. Everyone has friends, or relatives who are from the Irish or Scotch Irish traditions. Actually, you can send it to anyone you like because the message really is responsive to the key cultural and generational concerns of any ethnic group. Just put the appropriate group name in place of "Irish" and remove the Irish specific words and change a few words, and it will work just as well for any group. For example, Greek Americans prefer the word "Strong" to "Tough" and the Latino American community added the words "and strong family values" to "He's a man of faith."

Thanks for you help,
John Cullinane