In serenading the Chinese, Cherie Blair and her husband have raised an interesting question - does every modern politician need a theme song?

[Tony Blair illustrates just how far his
wife is from the correct note.]
Famously, Bill Clinton’s theme song was Fleetwood Mac’s “Don’t Stop.” He used it in his campaign and it stuck. That’s how it oughta work. Since then, it’s been a little less organized. Rather than settle on one song, Al Gore went with a whole bunch of 70’s rock songs, which pretty much sums up all the problems with his campaign. George W. Bush chose a brand-new country song that nobody knew, entitled “We the People.” At the time, it was completely unfamiliar to the American public, but by the time Bush took office it was virtually unknown. Ironically, today, no one remembers it.
This was a dangerous misstep - people don’t write campaign theme songs any more; the postmodern era demands creative appropriation. I believe I can help the administration with Fanatical Apathy’s Theme Song Service (with a nod to Christian Finnegan, who does this kind of thing all the time). Imagine these particular tunes a-crankin’ as the official in question steps into the room. Please feel free to add your own alternatives and suggestions in the “Comments” section.
George W. Bush - “De Do Do Do, De Da Da Da” by The Police
Dick Cheney - “Gimme Shelter” by The Rolling Stones
Colin Powell - “Lose Yourself” by Eminem
Condoleezza Rice - “Hungry Like the Wolf” by Duran Duran
Donald Rumsfeld - “Highway to Hell” by AC/DC
John Ashcroft - “Don’t Speak” by No Doubt
Paul Wolfowitz - “Weapon of Choice” by Fatboy Slim
Tom Ridge - “The Rainbow Connection” from “The Muppet Movie”
Karl Rove - “You Belong to Me” by The Doobie Brothers





23 comments
Steve
July 22, 2003 at 2:49 pm
1“The Rainbow Connection”?
Bri
July 22, 2003 at 2:49 pm
2That should be Rumsfeld - “Dogs of War” by Pink Floyd
Holly
July 22, 2003 at 2:58 pm
3Actually, Rainbow Connection would be the theme for Sen. Rick Santorum.
Jim Kinney
July 22, 2003 at 3:19 pm
4Hmm..
Colin Powell: “Could I’ve Been so Blind?” by the Black Crowes
George Tenet: “We Do What We’re Told” by Peter Gabriel
Tom Ridge: “Every Breath You Take” by the Police
Donald Rumsfeld: “Don’t Fear the Reaper” by Blue Oyster Cult
Tony Blair: “Kinky Sex Makes the World Go Round” by the Dead Kennedys
The Bush Administration: “Selling the Drama” by Live
Condi Rice: “Material Girl” by Madonna
Ari Fleisher (until he quit): “Nothing Really Matters” by Madonna
Dick Cheney: “Gone Daddy Gone” by the Violent Femmes
and George ‘Dubya’ Bush:
“Head Like a Hole” by Nine Inch Nails
or possibly..
“I Started Something I Couldn’t Finish” by the Smiths
Phishtar
July 22, 2003 at 4:34 pm
5“HIghway to Hell” is brilliant. But what will the theme song be to the Felber campaign, huh?
Elliott Johns
July 22, 2003 at 6:34 pm
6For Rummy
“Ego Trippin’ at the Gates of Hell” by the Flaming Lips
Bella
July 22, 2003 at 7:35 pm
7I see Ari Fleisher’s nearly been forgotten. Oh well, I guess it was foreshadowed in his theme song, “Just a Gigolo”.
anon
July 22, 2003 at 7:46 pm
8Well, credit where credit is due. John Ashcroft, at least, shows enough creativity to write & perform in his own theme music. “When the Eagle Soars” by John Ashcroft. Widely available online for free in (very) alternative music sites.
Eva
July 22, 2003 at 8:34 pm
9Brilliant- I can’t wait until you do the dem. candidates…..
Tom
July 22, 2003 at 8:45 pm
10For our wonderful president…Dubya…I suggest (from the Wizard of Oz)…’If I Only Had a Brain’.
adam
July 22, 2003 at 9:46 pm
11I actually considered “Head Like a Hole.” Mainly because I love the song, but still…
As for all your questions concerning “Rainbow Connection,” let me put it another way: ROYGBIV. Ot, in this case, ROYBG.
Murray
July 22, 2003 at 9:55 pm
12Felber theme song - Tie me kangaroo down, of course.
Ari Fleisher - The Boxer, Simon and Garfunkel (the corus is Lie, Lie Lie).
George W Bush - The Boxer,
Dick Cheney - The Boxer
Donald Rumsfeld - The Boxer,
Etc. -The Boxer
Erik
July 22, 2003 at 10:35 pm
13Paul Bremer: “Ender Will Save Us All” by Dashboard Confessional
Karl Rove: “Smooth Operator” by Big Daddy Kane
Donald Rumsfeld: “Violence and Bloodshed” by Manowar
Dick Cheney: “I Want to Conquer the World” by Bad Religion
George W Bush:”Peace Is Just a Word” by the Eurythmics
AugDog
July 23, 2003 at 1:02 am
14Rick Santorum: “Bad Touch” by the Bloodhound Gang
Dick Cheney: “Kick Start My Heart” by Motley Crue
Colin Powell: “Who Will Save Your Soul” by Jewel
George W Bush: “White Lines” by Grandmaster Flash
Don
July 23, 2003 at 2:08 am
15It seems to me that Clinton’s use of “Don’t Stop” didn’t end with the campaign.
Bet you could hear it coming from around the Oval Office.
Cory!! Strode
July 23, 2003 at 3:24 am
16The odd thing is (looking back at my own news parodies from the election) Bush was using the song “Won’t Get Fooled Again” by the Who at his last few weeks of campaigning…but cutting out the line:
“Meet the new boss, same as the old boss.”
I find it wonderfully ironic that they kept the lines:
“The change, it had to come
We knew it all along
We were liberated from the fold, that’s all
And the world looks just the same
And history ain’t changed
‘Cause the banners, they are flown in the next war”
I’ll get all my papers and smile at the sky and wait for the next election…when we’ll all get fooled again.
Murray
July 23, 2003 at 10:23 am
17“Ah,, Fool me once, shame on you, fool me twice…… we won’t get fooled again”. Geroge W Bush
That seems about right that Bush would listen to the chorus and not worry about the verses, which negate the message that he was looking to sell.
During the 1st Gulf war the theme song on the lips of our soldiers as they mowed through the Iraqi guard was “From a Distance”- by Juli Gold, an anti war song.
John Isbell
July 23, 2003 at 11:09 am
18Sade sang Smooth Operator first, and I hate to see it linked to Rove. Nancy Griffiths sang From a Distance. In 1984, the GOP used Born in the USA, also without listening to the lyrics.
Dem candidates:
Sharpton: “Fight the Power”, Public Enemy.
Graham: “Everyday I Write the Book”, Elvis Costello.
Gephardt: “Roll Me Over, Lay Me Down, and Do It Again”, traditional.
Dean: “Y’all Ready For This?”, I forget who.
Carol Moseley-Braun: “All Of Me”, Billie Holiday.
Kucinich: “Urban Guerilla”, Hawkwind.
Lieberman: “I Walk the Line”, Johnny Cash.
Kerry: “Must be the Money”, Deonne Sanders.
Edwards: “Ode to Billy Joe”, Bobbie Gentry.
Clark: “Santa Claus is Coming to Town”, traditional.
Randy
July 23, 2003 at 11:23 am
19Bush: “Now I Wanna Sniff Some Glue” by The Ramones.
Tony Blair: “Stand By Your Man” - preferably the Wendy O. Williams/Lemmy version.
John Ashcroft: “Psalm 69″ by Ministry
Dick Cheney: “Moon Over Marin” by The Dead Kennedys
Donald Rumsfeld: “Are You Drinkin’ With Me Jesus?” by Mojo Nixon
Kevin
July 23, 2003 at 12:05 pm
20The whole administration could just work under the blanket theme song of “Watch Your Step” by Elvis Costello.
Jamie
July 23, 2003 at 6:18 pm
21Ahmed Chalabi: “The Great Pretender” by the Platters
Paul Bremer: “Mr. Big Stuff” by Jean Knight
Tom DeLay: “Talkin’ Loud & Sayin’ Nothing” by James Brown
Scott McClellan: “Jive Talkin’” by the Bee Gees
Treasury Secretary John Snow: “You Haven’t Done Nothing” by Stevie Wonder
Condi Rice: “Liar” by the Sex Pistols (chosen because “Lyin’ Ass Bitch” by Fishbone would be unnecessarily mean)
Colin Powell: “Should I Stay or Should I Go?” by the Clash
Don Rumsfeld: “Is It Wicked Not to Care?” by Belle & Sebastian
John Ashcroft: “Behold! the Lord High Executioner” by Gilbert & Sullivan (from “The Mikado”)
Dick Cheney: “What We Do Is Secret” by the Germs
Dubya: “King Midas in Reverse” by the Hollies
John Isbell
July 23, 2003 at 8:40 pm
22Nice list, Jamie. Powell’s theme song is great, and “Mr. Big Stuff.”
For Blair, how about
“Tears of a Clown”, Smokey Robinson & The Miracles.
jabberwocky
July 25, 2003 at 4:57 pm
23Bush: “Pure Imagination” as sung by Gene Wilder in Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory
Blair: “Fuck You Softly” by Tenacious D
Saddam: “I Get Knocked Down” by Chumbawamba
Greenspan: theme song from Final Jeopardy