Billy Mitchell's dad? No, Mitch Mitchell's brother

"Who's George Mitchell?" An innocent question and one you wouldn't expect a well-educated American would have to ask. You know, George Mitchell, the Mitchell Accord? The Good Friday Agreement?? Peace in Northern Ireland??? "I thought Bill Clinton was responsible for all that." Apparently that is the way 1998's Good Friday Agreement between Ulster's Loyalists and Republicans was presented Stateside. Now while the process certainly would never have gained any momentum without pressure from the top, it was Senator Mitchell of Maine who put in the hard yards to get a result. If Slick Willie got the glory at home, it was the glory of a star running back waltzing in for a touchdown from the one-yard line after his unsung half-back team mate has put in the hard yards.
Mitchell's role in brokering the Good Friday Agreement was overlooked by the Nobel Prize Committee too, the Peace Prize in 1998 going to Northern Irish politicians David Trimble and John Hume instead. Fair Puppies, as they say in Ilkeston, but you'd think the Maine man's Wikipedia entry might big up his negotiating achievement in one of the world's sectarian trouble spots. Think again. Mitchell's role in Northern Ireland merits just five linez. A possible investigation into Barry Bonds' alleged steroid abuse that the ex-Senator may-or-may-not head up later this year is worth nine. 'The Mitchell Accord? What's that' indeed!