THOUGH the Irish government obviously couldn't come out in support of a candidate in our presidential election, the famous writing daughter of Ireland's most recent ex-PM is unabashed in her support for Barack Obama.

In an interview with The Sunday Business Post, Cecelia Ahern, the youngest at 27 of Bertie's two daughters, wasn't at all shy about making her political leanings known.

"I'm an (Barack) Obama supporter. I was torn between Hillary and Obama. It would be scary if Sarah Palin got near the White House," she said.

Is Cecelia a member of the media elite so despised by Palin and Senator John McCain? They'd probably see it that way. She's one of Ireland's best-known novelists, having sold millions and millions of books all around the world, she's the co-creator of the ABC comedy series Samantha Who?, and her first novel, P.S. I Love You, was turned into a hit film released earlier this year starring Hilary Swank. An elite resume indeed!

Bertie Ahern, meanwhile, is also quite sure that Obama will win the election, but confessed to being sorry that Hillary Clinton didn't win the Democratic primary.

"I've been following (the election) closely because I know a lot of the senators and have a good take on the states. I enjoy it and follow it state by state," Ahern told the Evening Herald on Monday. "Obama will win convincingly in my view. I'm confident he'll get a big vote."

Palin, Bertie feels, "added a bit of life to it all but at the end of the day it just came down to economic issues. The financial crisis ended McCain's chances."

With regards to Hillary, who he had many, many dealings with during his time as PM, Bertie said, "I have to be honest, I was a Hillary fan. I wanted her to get there."