Like many Americans, I’m a life-long Beatle fan who was offended by Sir Paul McCartney’s insult [1]to former President George W. Bush last Wednesday when the singer, songwriter and former Beatle accepted the Gershwin Prize from the Library of Congress.
Sir Paul should have taken a lesson in class from the Duke – John Wayne.
It is one thing to express your admiration and support of President Obama, but it is quite another to accept an award and then publicly insult President Bush at such a formal event.
I recall when John Wayne was invited to President Jimmy Carter’s inaugural gala in 1976. The great screen legend and conservative Republican came on the stage and the audience roared. Carter, a Democrat who had expressed his admiration of Wayne, was seen sitting in the balcony beaming with delight.
“I’ve mostly been associated with the opposition,” I recall the Duke saying to Carter, “But make that the loyal opposition.”
That, Mr. McCartney, is class.
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