Huey drops the mic

Last year's edition of A Capitol Fourth featured a performance from Huey Lewis and the News aired live over most PBS stations. By gray-maned Washington standards, hiring Lewis constitutes bringing in "someone for the kids." Maybe it was 25 years too late, but that's not bad by federal bureaucracy standards.

Huey was not in particularly fine vocal form for "The Power of Love." The acoustic challenges of the performance setting probably play a role in that. Nevertheless, he gamely soldiers through until 2:04, when an lapse in dexterity caused him to loudly drop the microphone.

Fortunately, the televised members of the VIP section were apparently too busy waving tiny flags to notice.