Margaret Truman Daniels

[EasyEd]

Truman's daughter attempted a singing career. Here's her obit:
www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/01/29/AR2008012903270.html

Washington Post music critic Paul Hume wrote in his review: "Miss Truman is a unique American phenomenon with a pleasant voice of little size and fair quality. She is extremely attractive on stage. Yet Miss Truman cannot sing very well. She is flat a good deal of the time -- more so last night than at any time we have heard her in past years."

After the president read the review the next morning, he wrote to Hume: "I've just read your lousy review of Margaret's concert. It seems to me that you are a frustrated old man who wishes he could have been successful. When you write such poppycock . . . it shows conclusively that you're off the beam. . . . Some day I hope to meet you. When that happens you'll need a new nose, a lot of beefsteak for black eyes, and perhaps a supporter below."

At the time, Paul Hume was also the director of the Glee Club at Georgetown.

Wonder how this would play today.

[lightbulbbandit]

Well if it was a Republican politician writing the letter to a critic in defense of his daughter then...

liberal pundits, blogs, and hardcore supporters would be talking about how much she sucks as a singer, how Paul Hume is a great and impartial music critic who calls it like he sees them, recommend that somebody file criminal charges for making threats to a member of the press, and that this episode just shows how much of a loose cannon the politician truly is, he should just resign now.

conservative pundits, blogs, and hardcore supporters would find some grade school mock election where Paul Hume voted for a Democratic candidate for state senate, accuse him of writing the review solely to get this response and use it to embarrass the politician, and laud the politician for his virtues as a strong family man defending his daughter (who by the way has a gorgeous singing voice).

If it was a Democratic politician then everything said above will still happen, just flip the liberal/conservative and Democrat/Republican labels.

[PhillyHoya]

Singing aside, she was always one of my favorite writers and I'll definitely miss waiting for her newest mystery.

[HometownHoya]

Jan 30, 2008 10:44:22 GMT -5 @lightbulbbandit said:

Well if it was a Republican politician writing the letter to a critic in defense of his daughter then...

liberal pundits, blogs, and hardcore supporters would be talking about how much she sucks as a singer, how Paul Hume is a great and impartial music critic who calls it like he sees them, recommend that somebody file criminal charges for making threats to a member of the press, and that this episode just shows how much of a loose cannon the politician truly is, he should just resign now.

conservative pundits, blogs, and hardcore supporters would find some grade school mock election where Paul Hume voted for a Democratic candidate for state senate, accuse him of writing the review solely to get this response and use it to embarrass the politician, and laud the politician for his virtues as a strong family man defending his daughter (who by the way has a gorgeous singing voice).

If it was a Democratic politician then everything said above will still happen, just flip the liberal/conservative and Democrat/Republican labels.

You just made my day, that was funny.