The Rating Game

Of course, many of the opinions expressed were outrageous, as were the justifications. On the other hand, some were wise. This reader enjoyed the reassessment of Louis Armstrong’s place in music history but reviled the downgrading of Porgy . Has the man ever heard it? (And by the way, it’s not a musical; it’s an opera.) And has he never heard “I Loves You, Porgy”? It is perhaps the most haunting moment in the history of American music. Still,

I am grateful that the raging controversy about Lucy Hayes and Florence Harding has been resolved. I’ve been upset over that one for years. Of Robert E. Lee’s re-evaluation downward: hooray. Any general who could have ordered that assault at Gettysburg deserves to be down there with Burnside.