OPINION:
Barack Obama, former president, just spent his 60th birthday with friends, family and fawning celebrity types at a bash on Martha’s Vineyard. Not unexpected.
And according to reports, he grooved to the song “Birthday Bitch” performed live by guest Trap Beckham. A bit unexpected.
This is, after all, a former president, a former leader of the free world. A former dignified member of the elitist of all elitist circles.
A father of two girls.
Among the lyrics: “One time for the birthday bitch. Two times for the birthday bitch. Three times for the birthday bitch. F—- it up if it’s your birthday bitch.”
The next four lines repeat the f-bomb line.
“You a bad bitch and it’s your birthday,” the lyrics continue. “G’on ahead, f—- it up in the worst way.”
Beckham, meanwhile, snapped and shared photos on social media that were quickly deleted — but not before the New York Post wrote this: “The recording artist and his handler posted themselves smoking cannabis — which is legal in Massachusetts.”
Very nice.
There’s more — but children are present. At least, it’s assumed the Obama girls were present at the party. Even if they weren’t — even they weren’t in the same room as their dad, their father, their primary male role figure in life — even if they were nowhere to be seen as he was regaled with Beckham’s signature “Birthday Bitch” song, it doesn’t change that they would have heard about it. What kind of message does a father send by allowing music like that in his presence, during a party, in front of scores of others? What kind of message does a former president send a watching world?
Only this: that secularism and cultural rot and immorality are celebrated in America. That profanity and vulgarity are acceptable forms of entertainment. That money, power, prestige and high political positioning doesn’t automatically bring class and taste.
And that no matter how you spin it, the image of a former president rapping to a live rendition of “Birthday Bitch” is not a good look.
Not for anyone — and not for America.
• Cheryl Chumley can be reached at cchumley@washingtontimes.com or on Twitter, @ckchumley. Listen to her podcast “Bold and Blunt” by clicking HERE. And never miss her column; subscribe to her newsletter by clicking HERE. Her latest book, “Socialists Don’t Sleep: Christians Must Rise Or America Will Fall,” is available by clicking HERE.
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