Oscar the nonpartisan

Awards night offers some pleasant surprises | Megan Basham

Walt Disney Studios

Here's something most Oscar-watchers probably never thought they'd see: a best director and best picture winner offering unqualified praise to the troops in Iraq and Afghanistan. Though the film Hurt Locker, which examines the squads that dismantle IEDs, isn't a pro-war film, neither does it propagandize against the war. And when its director took the stage, she maintained the level of respect and thoughtfulness she displayed in her film, simply saying, "I'd just like to dedicate this to the women and men in the military who risk their lives on a daily basis."

Oscar night was almost entirely free of political speech. Even the hosts refrained from jokes about anything related to the GOP (though of the bits they did do, an astonishing number were of a sexual nature). If anything, the evening was marked by an open-armed inclusion of Middle America.