“It’s a disgrace,” said McCartney, the 67-year-old former Beatle, of the oil spill crisis during a Monday afternoon press conference at the Library of Congress. “I think the fact that something like that could happen and the people who are to blame don’t have the ability to instantly cap it and clean it up, it’s something that’s got to be addressed.”…

But the British icon made a point several times during the conference to show his admiration for Obama, for whom he is playing a concert for at the White House on Tuesday. “I will say, I’m a big fan,” McCartney said of the president.

“He’s a great guy. So lay off of him,” he said to the laughter of Washington journalists assembled.