Beethoven dedicated his third symphony to Napoleon, because he believed that Napoleon was for a republican form of government, and would bring about the end of tyrannical monarchies in Europe.
When Napoleon ended up crowning himself emperor and went around conquering other countries, Ludwig was so upset he contemplated destroying the entire symphony, but ended up just tearing to shreds the first page which contained the dedication to Bonaparte. “Bonaparte” was the original working title, but got quickly changed to “Heroic”.
Dan Greenfield alludes to this incident in his fine article, citing that none of the Obama-worshippers have the guts to do something similar in the field of the Arts.
Thanks.