Wednesday, February 22, 2012

President Barack Obama sings again

It seems like the President is looking at new career possibilities after the White House and singing might be way up there. He is doing it more and more public and he's good at it. The man's got soul.
President Obama Sings "Sweet Home Chicago"




Matt Compton

February 22, 2012

10:53 AM EST

Share This Post

.

President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama host, “In Performance at the White House: Red, White and Blues” in celebration of blues music in the East Room of the White House, Feb. 21, 2012. (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)

.Last night, President Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama hosted an incredible group of performers for a night of blues music as part of the PBS "In Performance at the White House" series. After a little encouragement from the legendary B.B. King, the President took the mic from Mick Jagger, and sang a few lines from, "Sweet Home Chicago." Watch:





In welcoming the crowd to the White House, President Obama talked about the origin of the blues:



This is music with humble beginnings -- roots in slavery and segregation, a society that rarely treated black Americans with the dignity and respect that they deserved. The blues bore witness to these hard times. And like so many of the men and women who sang them, the blues refused to be limited by the circumstances of their birth.



The music migrated north -- from Mississippi Delta to Memphis to my hometown in Chicago. It helped lay the foundation for rock and roll, and R&B and hip-hop. It inspired artists and audiences around the world. And as tonight’s performers will demonstrate, the blues continue to draw a crowd. Because this music speaks to something universal. No one goes through life without both joy and pain, triumph and sorrow. The blues gets all of that, sometimes with just one lyric or one note.



King and Jagger were joined by Jeff Beck, Trombone Shorty, Keb Mo, and a host of others.



Here's the full set list:



1. “Let the Good Times Roll” (Ensemble)

2.. “The Thrill Is Gone” (B.B King)

3. “St. James Infirmary” (Trombone Shorty)

4. “Let Me Love You Baby” (Buddy Guy, Jeff Beck)

5. “Brush With The Blues” instrumental (Jeff Beck)

6. “I Can’t Turn You Loose” (Mick Jagger)

7. “Commit A Crime” (Mick Jagger, Jeff Beck)

8. “Miss You” (Mick Jagger, Shemekia Copeland, and Susan Tedeschi,)

9. “Beat Up Guitar” (Shemekia Copeland, Gary Clark, Jr.)

10. “Catfish Blues” (Gary Clark, Jr.)

11. “In The Evening (When The Sun Goes Down)” (Gary Clark, Jr.)

12. “Henry” ( Keb Mo)

13. “I’d Rather Go Blind” (Susan Tedeschi, Derek Trucks, Warren Haynes)

14. “Five Long years” (Buddy Guy, Jeff Beck, Gary Clark, Mick Jagger)

15. “Sweet Home Chicago” (Ensemble)




http://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/2012/02/22/president-obama-sings-sweet-home-chicago

Thursday, February 9, 2012

http://www.aljazeera.com/programmes/insidestoryus2012/2012/02/201229103619199404.html


Barack Obama, the US president, can hardly campaign on being the candidate of change this time around, but as his term comes to a close, he still appears to be honing his campaign message as he seeks re-election.
It is not just Republicans making the case that Obama needs to be challenged on his record - even some within his own party seem unconvinced by what they have seen during his first term.
Many on the left say the president appears too weak, too friendly and has positioned himself too far towards the Republicans - becoming a caricature of his predecessors, one too eager to give in to their demands.
One critic has branded his presidential style as being the perfect party follower as opposed to the perfect leader - courting Wall Street and large corporations when he should be limiting their influence on the White House's agenda.

Inside Story: US 2012

Obama's great divide

kamalfizazi profile
kamalfizazi #GOP peels off #US#Jewish voters from #Dems &#Obama; as elections get tighter, cause for concern?http://t.co/8qFjnHsc #us201222 hours ago · reply · retweet · favorite
kamalfizazi profile
kamalfizazi @politico can't let "perfect" be enemy of "good." What's point of purity if #Obamacan't compete? Giving #GOP the win would be wrong #us201215 hours ago · reply · retweet · favorite
RupertMurdochPR profile
RupertMurdochPR Is everyone enjoying Republican Idol? We'd have more singing, but all of them would be voted off in a week.#US20129 hours ago · reply · retweet · favorite
LiamIDWalsh profile
LiamIDWalsh GOP ultimately only unite under anti-Obama umbrella and not on coherent policy. Flaw of 2 party system perhaps?http://t.co/SKBVLdta #US20128 hours ago · reply · retweet · favorite


On issues ranging from his healthcare bill to Israel and the still-operational Guantanamo Bay, Obama has been accused of not standing his ground.
He has been challenged for fulfilling his election promise in pulling troops out of Afghanistan, his critics insisting that "the war against the Taliban is unfinished and the pull out gave the enemy the upper hand".
And all the candidates say Obama has not been vocal enough in his support for Israel. Mitt Romney has gone so far as to say he has "thrown Israel under a bus".