I couldn’t pass up tonight’s opportunity to combine music and diplomacy. Was a pleasure to launch @StateDept’s new Global Music Diplomacy Initiative. pic.twitter.com/6MUfTXO9xK

— Secretary Antony Blinken (@SecBlinken) September 28, 2023

During a surprise musical performance on Wednesday night, secretary of state Antony Blinken tried to convince the State Department he’s got the soul of a blues singer. The stiff-armed, frog-throated diplomat jammed out to a less than rousing rendition of Muddy Waters’s “Hoochie Coochie Man” that left the room full of his subordinates cheering. …

Blinken’s set followed performances from Dave Grohl of Nirvana and Foo Fighters and pop star Gayle. Before beginning, Blinken joked, “If this doesn’t clear the house, I don’t know what will.” Fearing for their jobs, or otherwise deaf, Blinken underlings gave him a standing ovation. Had Cockburn been in attendance, he would have gladly heeded Blinken’s advice and left. Clearly the secretary of state isn’t busy enough if he’s spending his time rocking out. Perhaps Biden could heed the cries from Arlington security contractors and start another war to put a bit more on Blinken’s plate and shut him up?

[I’m a big fan of Cockburn, but he’s got this backwards. We need to all buy Blues Boy Blinken albums in order to convince him to leave the world of diplomacy. If we can get him to use the Bidens to leave the public sector and join Blinken as his backing band, it would be PURE GOLD for America’s future. — Ed]