Sir Paul McCartney, deep as a thimble

By Warner Todd Huston

What is it with these left-wing entertainers that have to insult people while they accept their dubious awards? Why can't these lefties just graciously accept an award and go about their business without going out of their way to let the world know about their politics? But once again, this time with Paul McCartney, we have an entertainer forcing his politics on the world in an inappropriate manner.

While accepting the Library of Congress Gershwin Prize for Popular Song, McCartney decided that the celebratory air of the event was a good time make to fun of George W. Bush and pump up the Obammessiah.

"After the last eight years," the former Beatle joked, "it's great to have a president who knows what a library is."

This from a guy whose entire songwriting career is well known to be as deep as a thimble philosophically speaking. And this is not to even mention that this is from a guy whose country voted Neville Chamberlain into office once upon a time!

Let's face facts, here. Paul McCartney was the bubblegum, the popcorn, the fluff of the Beatles. For depth one has to look to John Lennon's dark cynicism or George Harrison's more thoughtful musings on life and religion. Even after the Beatles both Lennon and Harrison took their themes and memes more seriously than Mr. Paul "Silly Love Songs" McCartney ever did.

One wishes that Barack "Smarty Pants" Obama would help Mr. McCartney to one of those libraries he knows so well so that Sir Paul might read a book or two and expand his depth a bit. Maybe a little reading might help the grandpopster gain some insight into life after all his years of fame?

In fact, a bit of study might help turn McCartney from a guy too foolish to buy his own billion dollar music catalog allowing it to slip through his fingers only to be bought out from under him by the likes of Michael Jackson into one a bit better able to control his own artistic output? Perhaps reading a book or two might also have helped him avoid the traps set by those one-legged, gold-diggers he's had so much trouble with recently.

On top of that, Obama has been in office for 15 months already. The "last eight years" includes the last 15 months on my calendar, Paulie, how about yours?

Sadly fame does not bestow class as is evident from this needless cheapshot by the one-time popular singer.

But, I'd submit that Sir Paul isn't even a good Brit, here. After all, why is he praising Barack Obama? Over the past 15 months Britain has gone from being the happy recipient of America's "special relationship" to dissed and forgotten by the very president that Sir Paul is so giddy to be around.

Let's take a look at just a few of Obama's greatest hits on Britain since taking office:

• Feb. 2009: Much to the Brits dismay and embarrassment Obama summarily rejected the famous bust of Winston Churchill that sat in the Oval Office since 2001
  
  
• March 2009: Obama canceled a traditional press conference with the British Prime Minister without explanation then thoughtlessly gave a pack of U.S. DVD movies to the man as a diplomatic gift — Not only is the British PM was nearly blind but the movies were Region 1 discs that cannot play on a British DVD machine
  
  
• March 2009: Obama's administration refused to return repeated phone calls from the British government to discuss policy
  
  
• April 2009: Obama and his wife broke protocol by touching the Queen of England in a state visit
  
  
• May 2009: Obama did not include the Queen in his D-Day memorial plans as is traditional
  
  
• And in the worst slap yet, April 2010: Obama abandoned the British as they re-asserted sovereignty over the Falkland Islands
  
  

So what has Barack Obama done to deserve the appreciation of a Brit, anyway?

Finally, could we ascertain why the U.S. Library of Congress is giving awards to foreigners? Did we run out of American songwriters already?

© Warner Todd Huston