Irish Prime Minister Bertie Ahern walked a political middle ground Monday as he made the rounds of Washington to mark the feast day of his nation’s patron saint.

At the traditional St. Patrick’s Day lunch on Capitol Hill, he broke bread with President Bush, a Republican, and Speaker Nancy Pelosi, a Democrat, along with more than 80 guests of both parties, including Minority Whip Roy Blunt, R-Mo., and Majority Leader Steny H. Hoyer, D-Md.

Lawmakers clapped in time as the Irish group “Scythion” performed a jig.

Earlier in the day, at the White House, Ahern thanked the United States for its role in prodding for peace in Ireland.

“On St. Patrick’s Day, 2008, we enjoy in Ireland peace, partnership and rising prosperity. And it is, President, the first time that anybody has been able to say that in the history of our country,” said Ahern, who continued a tradition of presenting Bush with a bowl of shamrocks.

Ahern, whose formal title is Taoiseach, also met with Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, D-N.Y., and balanced that act by talking by phone with her rival for he Democratic presidential nomination, Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill.