A Sly Message?

I don't know who picks the candidates for annual Kennedy Center honors or how those choices are made. But it strikes me as more than a little coincidental that in the last ceremony presided over by the dismally unpopular lame-duck George W. Bush, held and televised during the long interregnum before the phenomenally popular Barack Obama takes over the office, the Kennedy Center has chosen to celebrate the guys who wrote and sang, "Meet the new boss; same as the old boss." The Rick Warren black eye is certainly more evidence that's trying to jump on that bandwagon.

By the way, the early buzz on the performances during the ceremony (which airs this evening on CBS) says to look out for Bettye Lavette's "gut-wrenching" performance of "Love Reign O'er Me." Dave Grohl predicted in rehearsal that she'd steal the show, and he apparently was right. Monsters and Critics.com reports:

The Who's Pete Townshend himself agrees. In a Q&A on his blog at TheWho.com, the legendary axe-slinger said, "My favorite moment was when Bettye LaVette sang a very fine version of 'Love Reign O'er Me' at the Gala and Barbra Streisand turned to ask me if I really wrote it."

(I would've linked to the original, but you need to subscribe for access.)