Debate about the accomplishments -- or lack thereof -- of Barack Obama as president continues to rage on (although, surely, being a bee in the bonnet of Ann Coulter types counts for something), but certainly we can all agree that he's got a decent singing voice. At least that's the conclusion that can be drawn from a clip making the rounds from tonight's PBS broadcast of "In Performance at the White House: A Celebration of Music from the Civil Rights Movement," a concert that took place on Tuesday.
The Washington Post's website today features a clip of Obama heartily joining in on "Lift Every Voice and Sing," alongside Smokey Robinson, Morgan Freeman, Jennifer Hudson, and various others. The video also includes snippets of performances by Robinson, Hudson, and Bob Dylan, and the site also offers a full version of the old croaker's (that'd be Dylan, not Obama) "The Times They Are A-Changin'."
While some historians will be quick to point out that this isn't the first musically-inclined president to live in the White House -- both Richard Nixon and Harry Truman, for example, could tickle some mean ivories -- this is the first time in recent memory that you can actually hear one of them singing. Especially since long-sought-after tapes of Dwight "D-Man" Eisenhower rockin' out on Elvis' "Teddy Bear" remain elusive.
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