The emotional reach of the Presidency was much greater than its constitutional reach, the Fianna Fail candidate, Prof Mary McAleese, said yesterday. She was formally launching her bid to succeed Mrs Mary Robinson Aras an Uachtarain as President.
Pursuing a bridge-building theme, she said in Dublin that the Presidency she wanted to live out was "meshed into who I am and what I am".
She continued: "My dream is for a Presidency which will capture and hold in its embrace this large, colourful family which is the Irish people; a Presidency which will reassure the people that their Constitution is under secure stewardship; a Presidency which will represent this country abroad with distinction and which could help heal the wounds inflicted on all of us by violence, hatred and suspicion."
Describing herself as a Northerner who had lived through "the worst of troubled times" and who had roots in Roscommon, she said he had made her first married home in Dublin, reared her children in Co Meath, taught law in Trinity College and got to know every part of Ireland as a journalist with RTE.
"I want to be a President who can bring a cool head to protecting the Constitution and a warm heart to each person whom the Constitution exists to defend; I want to be a President who will reach out and show each person that he or she is utterly respected and valued," she said.
The Taoiseach, Mr Ahern, said that stories of heartbreak, horror and hate had been central to all our lives over the past 25 years and had made Northern Ireland headline news so often for all the wrong reasons.
"Today we stand on the threshold of a new era of peace and prosperity if all the participants in the peace process gain the confidence and courage to begin that painful dialogue which alone can unlock the doors of consensus and agreement."
In spite of some attempts to stereotype the presidential candidates or label them crudely, he said, Prof McAleese had a life experience and years of deep involvement in a wide range of issues, concerns and causes which could not be forced into a "media photofit".
As President, she would bring her own unique style and philosophy to the office and would continue to expand the role of first citizen.
The Tanaiste, Ms Harney, said she had been "particularly struck" by Prof McAleese's strong criticism of those who wished to stereotype or pigeon-hole her, or any of the other candidates.
"The clamour for conformity in some sections of the media is in danger of suppressing debate rather than assisting it."
Calling on people to view each candidate with an unjaundiced eye and to seek the qualities required for the Presidency, Ms Harney said she hoped that voters would not rely on "unsubstantiated stories or ill-intentioned rumours" when they cast their ballot.