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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsMerle Haggard: ‘It’s Almost Criminal What They Do With Our President’
http://tasteofcountry.com/merle-haggard-president-obama/?trackback=tsmclip
After being honored at the White House for his lifetime achievements in the performing arts and outstanding contributions to American culture, Merle Haggard is forming an opinion about President Barack Obama based on character, not political agenda. The 73-year-old country legend, who has actually visited the White House as a guest of Richard Nixon and Ronald Reagan in years past, made an appearance in Washington D.C. for the 33rd Annual Kennedy Center Honors. While there, he mingled with the President, the Presidents wife and several other notable honorees.
It was also nice to meet Obama and find him very different from the media makeout. Its really almost criminal what they [the media] do with our President, Haggard tells Rolling Stone. There seems to be no shame or anything. They call him all kinds of names all day long, saying hes doing certain things that hes not. Its just a big old political game that I dont want to be part of. There are people spending their lives putting him down.
Im sure some of its true and some of its not, he continues. I was very surprised to find the man very humble and he had a nice handshake. His wife was very cordial to the guests and especially me. They made a special effort to make me feel welcome. It was not at all the way the media described him to be.
Hes not conceited, he adds. Hes very humble about being the President of the United States, especially in comparison to some presidents weve had who come across like they dont need anybodys help. I think he knows hes in over his head. Anybody with any sense who takes that job and thinks they can handle it must be an idiot.
Read More: Merle Haggard: 'It's Criminal What They Do to Our President' | http://tasteofcountry.com/merle-haggard-president-obama/?trackback=tsmclip
LawDeeDah
(1,596 posts)cough
MrScorpio
(73,631 posts)Voice for Peace
(13,141 posts)beautiful voice.
villager
(26,001 posts)kelliekat44
(7,759 posts)RandySF
(58,799 posts)Voice for Peace
(13,141 posts)and
lpbk2713
(42,757 posts)Congrats on the honors Merle.
Cha
(297,196 posts)President Obama and what the pundits and hack writers are spewing.
Thank you, Merle Haggard and VfPEACE!
shenmue
(38,506 posts)Cha
(297,196 posts)Zambero
(8,964 posts)Instead of regurgitated pop-rock sung with a forced twang and the odd fiddle thrown in here and there.
MoonchildCA
(1,301 posts)my step-step-once-removed cousin, or uncle... or something along those lines...
shenmue
(38,506 posts)I'm a third cousin to Rudy Giuliani.
MoonchildCA
(1,301 posts)dgibby
(9,474 posts)George W. Bush and I share 8th g. grandparents.
SoapBox
(18,791 posts)It's criminal the way the PukeBaggers and Haters talk about the President.
Dawson Leery
(19,348 posts)Haggard, a conservative from the country scene was the only one who came to the defense of the Dixie Chicks.
malaise
(268,976 posts)I remember
Dawson Leery
(19,348 posts)so he does not count.
madfloridian
(88,117 posts)The right wing HAS treated him with no respect at all.
azureblue
(2,146 posts)Merle said he wrote Okie as a satire in response to all the rah rah US that was going on back then in those Viet Nam War days.
The GOP is gonna have a fit when they read Merle's observation..
meadowlark5
(2,795 posts)Good thing he doesn't have a current CD to release because the baggers and Duck Dynasty crowd would boycott his music for saying nice things about the president.
sir pball
(4,741 posts)Merle ain't The Nuge...he's an artist and art ain't politics.
Old and In the Way
(37,540 posts)The Dead loved you...
Lochloosa
(16,064 posts)Zambero
(8,964 posts)Going back to the early days of Merle Haggard's career. Parsons quit The Byrds in '68 rather than accompany them for a concert tour of South Africa.
C Moon
(12,213 posts)Old and In the Way
(37,540 posts)One of the great Grateul Dead written by Merle. Thanks Merle!
Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin
(107,956 posts)This song was released during Bush II. Don't let the title fool you.
Eleanors38
(18,318 posts)DeSwiss
(27,137 posts)SleeplessinSoCal
(9,112 posts)Posted the link on facebook.
Comrade Grumpy
(13,184 posts)Here's Pure Prairie League's homage to the Hag:
cilla4progress
(24,728 posts)is that they believe Pres. Obama is "uppity."
While it is OK for Bush, Rumsfeld, Cheney to be arrogant insulting bullies, that damn Black man in the White House better be 'umble!
As I suspected all along ...
loyalsister
(13,390 posts)I don't think it was his intention, but emphasizing that he is humble does kind of have a "they shouldn't worry so much, he knows his place" ring.
InAbLuEsTaTe
(24,122 posts)Pacifist Patriot
(24,653 posts)"Anybody with any sense who takes that job and thinks they can handle it must be an idiot.
I got the impression that Merle thinks humility is a virtue in a president because it demonstrates realism as opposed to the sanctimonious condescension he seems to have witnessed in previous presidents.
If anything, I saw a really well crafted insult lobbed at Obama's predecessors in those remarks.
NewJeffCT
(56,828 posts)and, I'm not really a fan of Merle Haggard, or country music, in general.
loyalsister
(13,390 posts)For many people an arrogant black man is very different from an arrogant white man. In fact when it comes to the presidency, it has historically been expected if not desirable of them until we had president Obama.
LawDeeDah
(1,596 posts)kelliekat44
(7,759 posts)gracious if not humble by some standards.
Rex
(65,616 posts)There are people making millions for putting him down all day long.
IdiocracyTheNewNorm
(97 posts)You got a big old microphone that most people do not have access to what you gonna do to fix it?
* It is well know that those that buy his style of music and are mainly white, conservative and live in red states.
roguevalley
(40,656 posts)deurbano
(2,895 posts)Didn't see anyone who looked very conservative, though the white part was true. He has a broader "base" than just conservatives--lots of former hippies like me, for example.
Odin2005
(53,521 posts)IdiocracyTheNewNorm
(97 posts)If he had to rely only on progressive and liberals for his fan base he would be pretty much unknown to the majority of America.
Not because he is not talented, but because most liberals and progressive don't listen to or like country.
However there are always outliers in anything.
a kennedy
(29,655 posts)love his voice, so smooth, effortless and one of a kind. Real nice to hear him say this about the POTUS.
jillan
(39,451 posts)madfloridian
(88,117 posts)So it's good to hear he said this.
alarimer
(16,245 posts)He is actually less conservative than you might think. He had a couple of songs there in the 2000's that were pretty critical of Bush. Being from the "outlaw" side of country music, it isn't really surprising.
He always said "Okie From Muskogee" was written from the point of view of his father's generation. He's admitted to toking a few himself!
madfloridian
(88,117 posts)Been rerecorded in stereo.
http://www.emusic.com/album/merle-haggard/the-very-best-of-vol-1/10977332/
It's one of my favorite albums.
I sort of think of him like I do Patsy Cline, more of a blues or pop than pure country.
logosoco
(3,208 posts)I'm sure he knows that a lot of his fan base are the ones who are saying a lot of the crap, so it's nice to see him speaking out openly and honestly.
Initech
(100,068 posts)And the really sad thing is that republicans keep getting elected out of blind hatred for Obama.
deaniac21
(6,747 posts)I think he knows hes in over his head.
gmb92
(57 posts)especially the part about the media trashing Obama. Republicans are delusional about the media, always claiming they're on his side or what not. For those paying attention, it's mostly 24/7 Obama-bashing. The reason why the right-wing myth propagates is that they repeatedly whine about the "liberal media". It's a constant talking point for them, and is repeated regardless of the complete picture.
jwirr
(39,215 posts)but this makes me want to reassess my attitude. Thank you Mr. Haggard.
rurallib
(62,411 posts)now. This will no doubt raise some hackles where he's from.
IkeRepublican
(406 posts)Merle, Johnny, Waylon and many others are completely ignored. The Repukes have moved onto something far more fitting for them - pander pop with a slide Fender.
Drinkin' burr, kickin' ace, gawd is great (allahu akbar) and choo tabakka.
Did I mention drinkin' burr? Crudweiser, of course. Those horses in the ads just make them tear up with pride about their beer flavored piss water.
rurallib
(62,411 posts)Bluenorthwest
(45,319 posts)He's a more complex artist and individual than many people think.
Rstrstx
(1,399 posts)Benghazi update to follow immediately after roundtable discussion on Jon Gruber, the author of the ACA
northoftheborder
(7,572 posts)MissB
(15,807 posts)found the President down to earth and humble. It shouldn't be shocking.
YoungDemCA
(5,714 posts)INdemo
(6,994 posts)I think I have every major album of Merle's since 1967
deurbano
(2,895 posts)Muskogee." (At the Mountain Winery in Saratoga.) Great evening!
ReRe
(10,597 posts)Wonder what he thinks now (about the way his com-padres have treated PO since then?) Merle is a good man. Like Johnny Cash, he's a head above the rest, and my hat's off to him
spanone
(135,830 posts)Odin2005
(53,521 posts)Old Nick
(468 posts)Merle is one of them.
blitzen
(4,572 posts)and an iconoclast with liberal leanings