What a shock -- Grammy voters hate Bush!

Then again, rumor has it that many of those voting to award five Grammys to the Dixie Chicks actually listened to the trio's most recent album, and many of them are said to have liked it.

Who are these people kidding? The Grammys have always been the major award most difficult to take seriously -- is there any reason, to cite one example, for a distinction between "Album of the Year" and "Record of the Year" except to drive up slumping sales? With this transparent farce, the politicization of the Nobel, Oscars, Grammys, et al., is all but complete.

Truth be told, I have yet to hear the Dixie Chicks last album, having been disappointed by the last one I bought, long before they criticized Bush with war looming against Iraq. And if it turns out there's a song or two on there that I like, or all of them for that matter, I'll be the first to admit it. Not that I'll be rushing to the record store or iTunes any time soon. As I recall, the Chicks sounded like twangy, warmed-over Bangles nursing hangovers.

Does anyone really believe the DCs would have snagged five Grammys, including those considered the top three, had they not thrown meat to the lions in the entertainment industry by lamenting that Bush is president?