President Obama, Aides Tune Out Protest Song

COMMENTARY | President Obama was interrupted by protesters at a fundraiser at the St. Regis Hotel in San Francisco. Obama was stopped partway through his speech by a woman who wanted to, and did, sing. It turns out she was protesting to get WikiLeaks suspect Bradley Manning released from captivity. President Obama did not comply with the request.

The CNN Wire Staff has posted an article titled "Obama interrupted by singing woman at fundraiser."

You may listen to the protest song as well as view the lyrics used here.

You may recall that Manning is an Army private first class who is thought to have released classified United States information to WikiLeaks.

I'm not sure I understand the protesters' angst, since Manning was just moved to Fort Leavenworth, Kan., where there is a correctional center. He had been held at the much-publicized Quantico Marine Base. It seems he was being treated better -- "upgraded treatment," if you will.

As you will note watching the video, the young woman was soon joined in song by many others before she was escorted out of the venue by White House aides.

Credit must be given to President Obama. While not particularly a President Obama fan, I did like the way he handled the situation. He allowed the group to finish singing and then said, "Thank You." Additionally, he said, "...You have much better voices than I have."

The White House aides are to be congratulated as well, as you can see them keeping low key and not "attacking" the young lady.

All in all, while these type of events are not necessarily a good thing, it turned out to be about as harmless as it could be.

You know these days we have to get our laughs where we can. I'm going to surprise you and say it wasn't the protesters who gave me a chuckle or even President Obama when he said "Thank You."

In doing my research, of course, I read although do not necessarily use several references. At one site, I perused a few comments made by readers. One wag wrote, "Was the President raising money for his deficit?"

That comment made me laugh.

References:

CNN Website, CNN Wire Staff, "Obama interrupted by singing woman at fundraiser"

LATimes.com Website, Andrew Malcom, "Supporters of alleged WikiLeaks leaker, Bradley Manning, interrupt Obama speech with a song"

Fox News' Website, Brian Montopoli, "Obama Fundraiser Interrupted by Protesters"