Velvet Elvis

Nearly 18 years after the Velvet Revolution, the debate is still raging over who caused it. Václav Klaus told Radio Free Europe that those who think they brought on the fall of Communism are telling a falsehood and are flattering themselves. The system came apart from the inside, he said. Participants on CNBC's McLaughlin Group argued that Elvis Presley helped ease Eastern Europe out of the grip of the Soviets. The most attractive thing about America during the Cold War was the soft power of rock 'n roll, they said. Ah, and you thought the Elvis hits "Don't be Cruel," "Surrender" and "It's Now or Never" were love songs. Nope, subversive political messages from Elvis to the despots of Eastern Europe. Strangely, Elvis impersonator Vladimír Lichnovský said that Elvis is more popular in the CR now than at any time since the Velvet Revolution. Could it be that Czechs again feel that they need to be saved from their politicians by rock 'n roll?