I went to see "Fahrenheit 9/11" on opening night with a few peace-activist friends. Afterwards we went out for drinks and to discuss the film. It got a big laugh when I said, "Gee, I'm really disappointed with Britney Spears. I'll never be able to look at her the same way again."

(For those who don't know, she says in the film, "I think we should just trust our president in every decision that he makes and we should just support that.")

The joke, of course, is that I am not at all surprised. She said exactly what I would expect a young airhead to say. And I probably will look at her the same way again. You won't see me ripping up my copy of Rolling Stone.

In other words, her political opinions have nothing to do with the things I like or dislike about her as a performer. Why should Linda Ronstadt's fans feel any differently?