WHEN American television viewers saw President Clinton announcing the peaceful surrender of the anti government Freemen in Montana after an 81 day siege, they also saw Irish singer Mary Black standing at his shoulder on the South Lawn of the White House.
Mary was there to sing as the state visit of the President, Mrs Robinson, was coming to its splendid climax before what Mr Clinton called "the largest gathering of Irish Americans since the last Notre Dame football game".
Mrs Robinson entered into the spirit of the evening and warned him that "the Irish are taking over". Naturally the biased guests, including nearly all the Kennedy clan, loved it.
For the Washington Times, "it seemed as much a political rally as a ceremonial function". "You can tell which ethnic group is the swing vote in this election," joked the Washington bureau chief of the San Francisco Examiner, Christopher Matthews.
Whatever about that aspect, the light hearted, carnival atmosphere was a welcome relief to both Clintons from the unrelenting pressure on them from political opponents and the media over Whitewater related alleged scandals.
But never one to pass up a favourable media spot, Mr Clinton hopped up on the stage to tell the nation that the Montana siege was finally over and the FBI had done a great job. And that is how Mary Black got in the picture.
For Irish American relations, the visit was a well orchestrated triumph as the two presidents vied at times to outdo each other in compliments on their respective roles. But with the struggling peace talks in Belfast as a sombre backdrop, it was inevitable that Northern Ireland troubles would intrude.
For Mr Clinton in an election year, it is important that the peace process with which he has become identified does not collapse. When he was asked about the talks by the media, he was upbeat. Things were "rocking along nicely", he said at times to sceptical journalists.
For Mrs Robinson, the Clinton role in the peace process was frequently lauded and there were numerous recalls of his triumphant progress through the North last December. For onlookers, the chemistry between the presidents was palpable as they exchanged admiring glances at their joint press conference and at the toasts at dinner.
She even referred to him during her toast as "President Kennedy" and after an embarrassed pause quipped: "What's in a name?" The guests roared. For Mr Clinton this was a wonderful Freudian slip, as he has always been inspired by Kennedy since the famous handshake with him when he was a teenager.
At his table on Thursday night he had the late president's daughter, Caroline Kennedy Schlossberg, beside him while Teddy Kennedy was two spaces away with Mrs Robinson in between. She recalled how she had shaken hands with President Kennedy in Dublin in 1963 even if there is no photograph of it. "I did it, I swear I did it," she insisted.
Bill Clinton and the charisma of power seemed to bring out a seldom seen girlish, almost skittish, side of Mary Robinson. With the White House gardens ablaze with fairy lights on the trees and the Washington Monument and the Lincoln Memorial visible from her table in the balmy evening, it was an unforgettable occasion.
In the end of evening speeches, the two presidents were almost teasing each other. She told him he had won the bet as to which country had laid on the most unforgettable welcome.
He gallantly accepted the compliment and said that as it was an "Irish event " he was encouraging guests to stay on after midnight to dance to the air force band "until the angry neighbours run us off, and my experience is that this will be quite some time".
Spouses were split up, so Hillary Clinton sat at another table with Nick Robinson, who was thrilled with his gift of a book of political cartoons. Now how did the Clintons know that he had once been a cartoonist for The Irish Times? But while Hillary may have charmed Nick, he had a serious rival.
Liam Neeson minus pregnant actress wife, Natasha, had White House female staffers trying to summon up courage to ask for autographs, but he, too, had been smitten. "I fell in love with Hillary today," he said. "The photographs don't do her justice."
The hard boiled Washington press corps who have seen so many White House formal dinners knew this was something special.
"Starry Irish eyes - White House dinner has Hollywood sparkle", headlined USA Today. "Clinton's biggest fete brings out the Irish", proclaimed the Washington Times. "Dublin their pleasure - Hundreds of guests wear the green to the White House" was the Washington Post's title for its report.
It was noted that 16 year old Chelsea Clinton, "poised and eager in a long pale blue gown", appeared at her first state dinner and that Tessa Robinson was also having a White House "first".
It had been a long day for both presidents from the ceremonial arrival at Fort Myer that morning to the fairyland atmosphere of the White House South Lawn at midnight. Before it ended Mary Black sang "Let's drink and be merry, all grief to refrain. For we may and might all meet here again."
They won't, of course. But they will always remember.