Lady Gaga, Woody Guthrie, Donald Trump and the Super Bowl of Inclusion

Instead of overt political speechifying, in a glammy, athletic, thoroughly professional show-bizzy performance, Gaga played a keytar and put across a message of diversity with a football team's worth of multicultural dancers and a cavalcade of hits, including the title track to her  2011 album Born This Way.

The inclusion message in an era of anti-immigrant ferment was as hard to miss as the "one nation indivisible" line from the Pledge: "Whether life's disabilities left you outcast, bullied or teased / Rejoice and love yourself today, 'cause baby you were born this way," she sang, sporting shoulder pads and Bowie-eque eye makeup.  "No matter gay, straight or bi, lesbian, transgendered life / I'm on the right track baby, I was born to survive."

And though the pre-game attention was paid to Gaga, her everybody is welcome message  turned out to be be part of a larger whole, in which the Super Bowl commercials seemed to be intent on collectively opposing of Trump's Muslim ban executive order with one ad after another that celebrated America's immigrant tradition, with spots from Coke, 84 Lumber, Budweiser and Airbnb, not to mention a feminist Audi clip that espoused equal pay for equal work. Couple that with the "America the Beautiful" sung by the the trio of multicultural Hamilton actresses that added the word "sisterhood" to the lyrics, and you had a Super Bowl of inclusion that even made room for bro-country hombre Luke Bryan to sing the "Star Spangled Banner."

Because nothing is as good for business as a Super Bowl halftime show, Gaga followed her performance by anouncing a world tour for her album Joanne on Monday. It kicks off Aug. 1 in Toronto and plays the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia on Sept. 10.  More info here.

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