All it took was a few bars of an old blues classic to show the president as confident, relaxed and finally having fun ? again.
A month after Barack Obama?s rendition of Al Green?s ?Let?s Stay Together,? the president was back at the microphone Tuesday night, joining bluesmen B.B. King and Buddy Guy for the first few lines of ?Sweet Home Chicago.? The result: Another viral video, another cable TV favorite and another boost for a candidate trying to reconnect with voters who?ve been turned off by his often cold and rational demeanor.
Continue ReadingObama?s singing voice is a rare skill among the political class ? and one with real political potential he?s been eager to reap. Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney?s takes of ?America the Beautiful,? for example, have earned him some applause for effort and bravery, but they haven?t landed him the invitation to perform on ?American Idol? that Obama got after his debut at the Apollo Theater.
?It makes the president more likable because it?s humanizing. Just the fact that he tried to sing in public was a single. That he sang well was a double. That he didn?t sing ?America the Beautiful? was a triple. That he sang Al Green was a home run,? said Mark McKinnon, a political strategist and longtime George W. Bush adviser.
McKinnon, who earlier in his career spent time as a Nashville songwriter, pointed out that he knows of what he speaks.
?He?s got some real juice. Not saying he could win ?American Idol,? but he?s got some decent pipes. History will judge his presidency, but it?s probably not a stretch to say he may be the best crooner to occupy the Oval Office,? McKinnon said.
For a president who?s often seemed unenthusiastic about the claustrophobia and insularity of the Oval Office ? he?s rarely used the White House?s entree into the Washington social scene the way other presidents have ? and weighed down by three years of bruising political fights, Tuesday he seemed to embrace it.
?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. Secret Service won?t let you. And that?s frustrating,? he said at a blues tribute at the White House. ?But then there are other nights where B.B. King and Mick Jagger come over to your house to play.?
The White House says that both moments were unscripted and genuine ? ?The circumstances, both at the Apollo Theater and last night at the event here, I think, were pretty unique,? White House press secretary Jay Carney told reporters. ?I think it?s just a hidden talent that we?re just getting to hear.?
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