Hillary roadtests Shania Twain's Man! I Feel Like A Woman at a Washington DC karaoke bar last month (OK then, she was speaking at a fundraiser). Photograph: Brendan Smialowski/Getty Images
Sometimes when you listen to US politicians droning on about boring things like Iraq, climate change and abortion, you wonder why they don't ditch all the dull stuff and cut to the issues that matter. You know, things like the campaign song and, well, just that really. Choosing the right campaign song is something White House candidates have long placed a rather scary amount of importance on, none more so than this time around which sees Hilary Clinton going all American Idol on our asses.
"Hi! I'm Hilary Clinton, and I need some advice from everyone out there who's watching this."
So goes the message on her website, before inviting the American public (and, erm, anyone else in the world who has internet access) to vote for her campaign song from a list of potential "anthems". You won't be surprised to learn that the choice is not all that great: Suddenly I See by the Scottish singer-songwriter KT Tunstall, Beautiful Day by the Irish band U2 and Right Here, Right Now by the English group Jesus Jones. Terrible songs one and all, not to mention lacking in flag-waving potential.
Past campaign songs such as Ode to the Georgia Farmer (Jimmy Carter, 1976), I'm Feeling Good About America (Gerald Ford, 1976) and This Land is Your Land (George Bush Snr, 1988) all show that choosing a campaign song isn't exactly rocket science. It doesn't even have to make sense, as Ronald Reagan's adoption of Bruce Sprinsteen's anti-Vietnam anthem Born In The USA surely proves. All that's important is a bloomin' big chorus you can thump your chest to and shout things like "Go gettum, George!"
Top marks to Hilary for including Bush-baiters the Dixie Chicks (Ready To Run) though, which, if chosen, would give the Republicans a sore nose. Speaking of which, the Republicans have seemed pretty honest with their choices in recent times. In 2000, Bush opted for I Won't Back Down, shortly before invading any country that dared look at him funny. Then, in 2004, he chose Only in America (as in Only in America Could I Get Voted in Again, we assume). Here's hoping that Rudy Giuliani really blows the game wide open by opting for The Smiths' That Joke Isn't Funny Anymore. Any more suggestions?
