Paul McCartney: Refuses to apologise for Bush gag

Sir Paul McCartney has refused to apologise for a joke he cracked on former president George W Bush during an appearance at the White House earlier this month.
The Beatles legend poked fun at the ex-leader's intellect as he became the first non American to collect the Gershwin Prize for 'Popular Song' from Bush's successor, president Barack Obama.
"After the last eight years, it's great to have a President who knows where the library is," Macca said.
By McCartney this comment infuriated top US politician John Boehner, who demanded McCartney make a public apology for the gag.
But the singer has insisted that his comments shouldn't be taken so seriously - as it was just "a joke".
The Daily Express quoted him as saying,"I said that on purpose. And now all this (criticism), like I'm going to care? It was a joke. Hello, anybody there? It's a joke".
"Has anyone ever watched Saturday Night Live? They joke about Bush all the time. As for a public apology, are they kidding?
He added, "I was in two minds whether to say it and I actually waited until the President had gone because I didn't want to embarrass him or his family. But hey, come on, it's rock and roll. It wasn't a religious meeting and I'm allowed to make jokes".

Pays on-stage tribute to Jimi Hendrix, Paul Mccartney

Sir Paul McCartney Former Beatles member Macca paid tribute to late Jimi Hendrix as he opened at the Isle of Wight festival.
Macca said that he was more than glad to know that the rocker was a big fan of The Beatles. The star entertained the audience with stories of his heyday with the Fab Four.
During one short note, he told the audience about his little known friendship with Hendrix in the 1960s. "I was really lucky to know Jimi and hang out with him a little bit in the 60s, he was a great guy," the Daily Express quoted McCartney as telling fans.
"The biggest tribute we had from him was we released 1967 album Sgt. Pepper on Friday and then I went to look him on the Sunday and he learned it; how cool was that for me? Very cool," he exclaimed.
McCartney also played part of Hendrix's track 'Purple Haze' during his massive 27 song set, which included hits such as 'Let It Be', 'Live And Let Die' and 'Hey Jude'.

McCartney speaking words of wisdom?

It takes character to withstand the rigours of adulation. Two men who know what it is to receive the worship of the world met in Washington recently, and the outcome was intriguing.

Last week, President Barack Obama welcomed Sir Paul McCartney, the most prolific of the Beatles, to the White House and awarded him with the Gershwin Prize, commemorating his magnificent musical career.

The presentation was the culmination of a star-studded event, wherein Obama helped McCartney croon his old ballad Michelle to the First Lady. Unless you happen to be a Gulf Coast resident who wishes Obama would call a halt to White House parties until the massive oil leak has been capped, I’m sure it was a touching moment. Maybe McCartney should have included Fixing a Hole in his playlist.

But Sir Paul couldn’t just Let it Be. After thanking Obama and the award’s sponsor, the Library of Congress, McCartney added, “After the last eight years, it’s great to have a president who knows what a library is.”

This little dig was, of course, the one-millionth instance of some bien-pensant coming up with a new way to call George W. Bush stupid. As it happens, Bush’s wife was a librarian, so one assumes that as a young caveman, the future president would at least pop by the place to drag her home to cook the day’s hunt.

But let’s say it’s true, and Bush is the most remarkable mouth-breather imaginable. So what? He will never hold political office again. Why sully a celebration by trashing a man who’s long gone?

Obama has made a habit of blaming Bush for everything from economic collapse to vapour lock, but unlike McCartney, he has practical reasons for doing so. To wit, the longer Obama can blame Bush, the longer he can avoid criticism himself.

Even so, in the whole history of humankind, scant few have ever been the objects of such global adoration as have Obama and Sir Paul. What, then, are they so cross about?

Obama could be forgiven for being frustrated, as his presidency has not been the success folks expected. As leader of the hopey-changey crusade that swept the world in 2008, he had nowhere to go but down.

McCartney referred to “the last eight years,” and it bears mentioning that Obama has been in the Oval Office for 17 months. In that time, America’s budget deficit has tripled, unemployment has hovered around 10%, and Obama’s approval ratings have plunged.

The Beatles, too, began to crack at the height of their success, including the 1966 comment by McCartney’s songwriting partner, John Lennon, that they were, “more popular than Jesus” (Lennon claimed the remarks were misinterpreted; the Vatican posthumously pardoned him in 2008).

Like many young people, I went through a “Beatles phase” (I have yet to experience an “Obama phase,” but anything’s possible), wherein I became a font of trivia about them. But one learns that everybody is fallible, celebrity notwithstanding.

These men, Obama and McCartney, have had it all. They have been to the mountaintop, yet they are still capable of bitterness. How is that possible? Perhaps, to paraphrase another sensation, Shakespeare, the fault is not in our stars, but in ourselves. Maybe success and happiness are states of mind, no matter what the world thinks.