As a curmudgeonly conservative Republican who’s pushing 60, I have to ‘fess up: I like rap music. Hey, rap music helped kill disco. I feel I owe rap and rappers a debt I can never repay. One of the rappers I like is that guy named Common.

OK, so his parents had the better judgment to name him Lonnie Rashid Lynn Jr. His moniker might ring a bell because Common’s the rapper who was invited to President and first lady Obama’s “An Evening of Poetry” at the White House a couple of weeks back. Common’s invitation caused quite a few conservative noses to get twisted out of joint.