I agree with the thrust of this reader’s point:

I too was at the U2 show last night, and had some of the same passing thoughts you did, particularly about mentioning Cuban dissidents. But you know what? I’ll take that show over any Hollywood awards show monologue or “comic” routine any day of the week. With the possible exception of a country/western show (which likely wouldn’t have attracted most of the crowd that showed up last night), I can’t think of any current entertainment venue where a mega-celebrity would praise the United States, give President Bush a positive, (if brief) endorsement and have a Sikh gentleman on stage waving an American flag.
Sure, it would’ve been nice to give our soldiers a mention or show images of Cuban dissidents or Afghans, but I didn’t get the impression U2 was trying to be politically safe, nor that any “shout-out oversights” were ill-intentioned.
Though I would’ve loved to see some images of the huddled masses stuck in the traffic outside the stadium…..