Paul McCartney: Lay Off “Great Guy” Obama

[ELVIS]

June 2nd, 2010

AP



Paul McCartney would like President Obama's critics to let him be.

“I’m a big fan, he’s a great guy. So lay off him, he’s doing great,” the British songsmith said on Tuesday, ABC News reported.

This year’s recipient of the Library of Congress’s Gershwin Prize for Popular song, McCartney is set to perform at the White House Wednesday evening and be feted by fellow musicians Stevie Wonder, Faith Hill, the Jonas Brothers, Elvis Costello and Herbie Hancock, among others.

Speaking at a press conference in Washington ahead of the event, McCartney, 67, said he planned to “try to have fun” but predicted a case of the nerves when performing “like, three feet away” from Obama.

The Gershwin Prize, named after songwriting duo George and Ira Gershwin, has been given out on two previous occasions, according to Reuters.

Stevie Wonder was honored last year. Paul Simon got the nod in 2007, which makes the ex-Beatle the first non-American Gershwin Prize recipient.

"It's fantastic for me to be here because as a little kid I grew up listening to the music of the Gershwin Brothers and loved it and had no idea, of course, that one day I might be in such a place, getting an honor such as this," McCartney said at Tuesday’s press conference. "I wouldn't have believed you if you told me as a kid growing up in Liverpool that this would happen. So it's very special for me."

The Gershwin Prize concert is set to be broadcast on July 28.

[chefcraig]

Did you ever notice that out of all the awards Mac has received over the years, he was never nominated as "sharpest knife in the drawer"? I love the guy's music, but clearly his elevator doesn't quite reach the upper floors.

[Warham]

Musicians always seem to be the most clueless people when it comes to politics, right after people in Hollywood.

[chefcraig]

Musicians always seem to be the most clueless people when it comes to politics, right after people in Hollywood.

"Being a rockstar makes me an internationally recognized expert on everything" - David Lee Roth

OR

"Rockstars...is there anything they don't know?" - Homer Simpson

[Nitro Express]

Musicians always seem to be the most clueless people when it comes to politics, right after people in Hollywood.

No kidding. Here's a great example.

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[Nitro Express]

I just hope the so called tea baggers are smart enough not to fall into the Sarah Palin bullshit. Everyone she is going around endorsing has ties to the same people who helped put Obama into power. There's an obvious game of political ping pong going on. With each new president the globalization and consolidation agenda gets furthered regardless of whether the Democrats or Republicans get power. As far as foreign policy and economic policy goes, Obama is no different than Bush. This should be obvious to people by now. Ignore the rehtoric and look at what they really do. It's the same agenda.

[chefcraig]

never mind...

[Nitro Express]

Obama would have never won if Bush wasn't such a disaster, now Obama is a disaster and that will cause a backlash and a spring board to the new savior. The disaster is the ping pong paddle that sends the ball to the other side. As long as you can control both sides of the ping pong table you can further your economic and political agenda. Look at business, economics, and the world over the past 40 years. It's been consolidated and now we have huge multinational monopolies forming. We need to nip this. Europe has woken up that the European Union was a scam, hopefully Canada and the US are waking up. The so called free market is just a ponzi scheme ran by a few people who control the prime interest rate. They just want to keep everyone in debt so they have to keep their central banking scam ran out of Switzerland going. If currencies of the world are taken from the central banks and put under legislative power, the game is over. Central banking is what's behind all these puppet politicians. It's not so much Obama but the banks who put him there and run his agenda.

[Nitro Express]

The only two solvent countries in the world right now are The People's Republic of China and Switzerland. The Bank of International Settlements and the Bank of China is where the real power is. One reason Bernake and Gietner routinely fly to Bejing to beg. Gietner was just there and now he went to Germany to beg them not to outlaw derivatives. It's the banks and the politicians are their bitches.

[hambon4lif]

Paul McCartney would like President Obama's critics to let him be.

“I’m a big fan, he’s a great guy. So lay off him, he’s doing great,” the British songsmith said on Tuesday.

Does he even live here? 'Cause lord knows that's all we need is another fucking 'armchair' American telling us how we're supposed to feel.

I'm as much of a Beatles fan as much as the next person, but he's clearly out of line.

He should find another girlfriend with a wooden leg and a kickstand and shut the fuck up!

[bueno bob]

I don't see any problem with Paul McCartney expressing a personal opinion, myself...citizen or no (and I'm not sure which he currently is), he's as entitled to one as anybody else is, certainly. As far as being "out of line" for expressing it into a microphone? Hardly. He's not the first musician that's had an opinion on something other than music and he certainly won't be the last.

I'm curious how many of you would have been off on the same "He's out of line" standpoint if the article in question was about Six Feet Under's recent "Fuck you Obama!" tirade instead.

[Seshmeister]

McCartney has paid more US taxes over the years than every US poster here combined so that gives him the right to comment.

Why anyone would care what he thinks is another matter.

[fryingdutchman]

McCartney has paid more US taxes over the years than every US poster here combined so that gives him the right to comment.

Why anyone would care what he thinks is another matter.

That may very well be true, but you have to admit that the whole "lay off of him because he's a great guy" sentiment expressed by Macca is pretty weak. A comment like that is more of an assessment of Obama's personality than his leadership skills.

I have no doubt that Obama is a nice guy personally and I'd probably enjoy watching football at his house and cracking open a few beers.

But he's starting to leave a little something to be desired when it comes to the whole "leader of the free world" gig he charmed his way into (with a lot of help from Dubya).

And nobody's going to "lay off" while hard working families in this country are being put out in the streets while Wall Street bankers snicker as they deposit their mega-bonuses.

And they're not going to "lay off" while the entire fishing industry in the gulf grinds to a halt and even MORE hard working people get fucked as oil company executives wipe their asses with hundred dollar bills while feigning concern about the lives they crush under their feet.

[Seshmeister]

He married Heather Mills and had Linda singing backing vocals.

If he told me the sky was blue I would go and check a color chart...

[Blaze]

The President hails Paul McCartney's contribution to popular music and song during a ceremony to present the singer with the Library of Congress Gershwin Prize.

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