White House Wins the Blues

Last night the White House was singing the blues — not because of any poll numbers (really, they have no reason to weep there) but to celebrate Black History Month with some music legends.

“One of the things about being President — I’ve talked about this before — is that some nights when you want to go out and just take a walk, clear your head, or jump into a car just to take a drive, you can’t do it,” President Obama said in remarks at the East Room performance. “Secret Service won’t let you. And that’s frustrating. But then there are other nights where B.B. King and Mick Jagger come over to your house to play for a concert. So I guess things even out a little bit.”

But is an event at the White House ever a chance to just be an ordinary guy? Not during campaign season!

“Their music teaches us that when we find ourselves at a crossroads, we don’t shy away from our problems,” Obama said. “We own them. We face up to them. We deal with them. We sing about them. We turn them into art. And even as we confront the challenges of today, we imagine a brighter tomorrow, saying, I can do it, just like Muddy Waters did all those years ago.”

Yes, we can win the… blues? Blues built to last?

Michelle Obama hosted a blues clinic for kids earlier in the day, in which she noted that presidents are kind of like occupiers with better hygiene.

“This is your spot. We want this house to truly be the people’s house,” she said. “That’s something that we say — people say, this is the people’s house. We just happen to occupy upstairs, but this belongs to everybody.”