I have tune out of the Republican presidential debates. Too much pandering, too much silly campaign rhetoric. I wrote about their statements on Europe, for instance in Gingrich, Romney rely on Eurobashing to "define their America" and "Europe" is a Dirty Word in the United States. I do, however, tune into official and unoffical campaign music videos.
Here are my three favorites so far in this election cycle: The best music video for a presidential candidate (Rick Santorum), the best video against a presidential candidate (Newt Gingrich), and the most bizarre one from a (former) candidate (Herman Cain).
1. While I don’t agree with Rick Santorum‘s political views, I consider this the best music video for a presidential candidate in this election cycle so far. It helps me to better understand why so many Americans like him and why his campaign is so successful at the moment. The music video "Game On" by the band First Love, praises Rick Santorum’s stands on faith, abortion, and manufacturing:
The chorus is:
Oh, there is hope for our nation again
Maybe the first time since we had Ronald Reagan
There will be justice for the unborn
Factories back on our shores
Where the constitution rules our land
Yes, I believe… Rick Santorum is our man!
The performance by the sisters is so much better and seems to be more authentic and genuine than Obama Girl, and the German copycat Steini Girl, which is a reference to the Social Democrats’ candidate for chancellor in 2009.
2. My favorite music video against a presidential candidate is this new version of Adele’s "Someone Like You" which trashes Newt Gingrich and was produced by Venga Productions. (Hat tip: The Atlantic) Super awesome.
3. The most bizarre video comes from Herman Cain. involves the murder and/or torture of a goldfish and has gone viral recently. No music, but weird arthouse film creativity:
What are your favorite campaign videos, especially those with music? It’s the weekend after all. Anything I missed?
German Politics, and especially official and unofficial campaign videos, are so much more boring!
Endnotes: Oldies but goldies: I also like the songify version of Christine O’Donnel’s ad for the US Senate: "I am not a Witch" (2010)
More videos on Atlantic Review: Top Five: Americans who rocked Berlin
Crossposted from my blog Atlantic Review: Best Music Videos for the US Elections
Joerg Wolf is founder and editor-in-chief of the Atlantic Review (http://atlanticreview.org), a blog on transatlantic relations sponsored by the German Fulbright Alumni Association.
He currently works as editor-in-chief of the Open Think Tank atlantic-community.org in Berlin.
Joerg studied political science at the Free University of Berlin and worked as a research associate for the International Risk Policy project at the Free University’s Center for Transatlantic Foreign and Security Policy. He has been a Fulbright scholar at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore and Washington DC and has worked for the Friedrich Ebert Foundation in Cairo and in Berlin.