Surprising. Liberal though he is, Paul was always the media-savvy Beatle. Not only is this joke lame even by the standards of a left-wing blog circa 2004, but he comes off like a partisan tool at a nonpartisan event held to honor him for his music. It’s exceedingly cheap. And of course, the mindless leftist VIPs in the audience roar with approval.

Two vids here, the first of Macca’s bon mot and the second of The One spending Day 43 of the BP spill by joining in on an all-star jam of “Hey Jude.” The irony of McCartney’s dig, of course, is that if Bush had pulled that, the clip would be in constant rotation today on cable. The media would have utterly — utterly — destroyed him for it. Click the image to watch.