Obama: Only One Anthem

The Rocky Mountain News scored a chat with the nominee in waiting, Barack Obama, and brought up the surprise switch that took place Tuesday at the mayor's State of the City address.

In a phone call, the candidate told the Rocky: "We only have one national anthem. And so, if she was asked to sing the national anthem, she should have sung that. Lift Ev'ry Voice and Sing is a beautiful song, but we have one national anthem."

The controversy has stirred Denver and lit up the comments sections of local newspapers and blogs.

Rene Marie, the focus of so much attention since her Tuesday performance, responded on the topic of whether her actions--in an election year featuring the first black candidate to (presumably) enter the general election--might actually hurt the candidate's chances.

"Believing that would be a serious overestimation of my influence as an artist," she said.

Well put. And now that everyone from the mayor to the governor to the presumptive Democratic nominee himself has weighed in on the topic, can we please put this thing to rest and talk about, I don't know, the 2,000 Marines just extended in Afghanistan, or the fact that Karl Rove is, in effect, overseeing the McCain campaign?