Top 10 Political Music Moments

Ah, the nip has returned to the air, and the bustle of shopping for the Inclusive Holiday Season has us all running around like free-range chickens that have been humanely euthanized. All around the town, the dulcet tones of Holiday music can be heard wafting secularily through the crisp night, into our eager conscioussni.

Alas, there are precious few hymns or hyrhs for the political junkie, and that's a shame. I've decided to remedy this ill with my selection of the Top 10 Political Music Moments. Feel free to debate the merits of my selections and to add your own, but first, sit back. Relax. Let these chanteurs and chanteuses carry your spirit into the night on the chariot of their melodious stylings.
10. Kucinich Sings "Sixteen Tons" - Dennis comes in at number ten because, while he gets high marks for being on point with his song selection, alas, he's no Woody Guthrie. To quote a great American, "You were a little pitchy, Dawg."


9. Bush Busts a Move - Our Commander-in-Chief gets slightly jiggy with it, even bum-rushing the drum for an impromptu solo at an event for Malaria Awareness Day. Apparently, "Malaria" is the opposite of "Self."


8. Obama Girl - Funny and sexy, Obama Girl set a new standard for visual appeal on our countdown. She loses points, however, for vocal skills that don't match her other..um..qualities. If she calls for a recount, I wouldn't be adverse to a floor fight, here.


7. M.C. Rove - This performance makes the list only on the strength of it's brilliant premise. Rove as gangsta rapper? Oh, if only his rhyming skills were up to the task, it could've been "Dirty Tricks" meets the "Dirty South." On the positive side, David Gregory may now have a gig locked up on "Dancing with the Stars."


6. The Singing Senators - I really wanted to find more video of these guys, but there wasn't that much. Who doesn't love Barbershop? Anytime I hear a barbershop quartet, I think to myself, "Why is there any other kind of music?" Chris Matthews does a "Behind the Music" parody on T.S.S., but the real treat is the boys singing "Elvira". A powerhouse of talent, these guys are sort of a "Traveling Wilburys" of the upper chamber.


5. Hillary Clinton Sings Anthem - It's like getting caught singing in the shower, only less sexy. Poor Hillary gets singled out by what must have been a Diebold microphone.


4. Bill Clinton Jams - The former President casts a long shadow. Rumor has it that when Dubya stumbled across this video while stalking Clinton's MySpace page late one night, he immediately called his entire cabinet in to rehearse the "Benny Hill Show" theme on kazoos. It's just a rumor.


3. The Daily Show Correspondents sing The National Anthem - Another great example of why I love Barbershop. This clip has that rarest comedic/artistic feat: to at once deconstruct and surpass your subject. Tenacious D did it, and these folks do, too. Back to you, Jon.


2. John Ashcroft Lets the Eagle Soar - Leeberals, forgive me, for I have sinned. In the name of the Kennedy, the Carter, and the Holy Clinton...I don't like this song. I LOOOOVE this song! Whenever it's on, I chime in as loud as is permitted, in that exaggerated vibrato that the old ladies in church use, and I love. every. minute. The shame. Actually, until now, I'd only ever heard the snippets that they played on the Fahrenheit 9/11 commercials, so this is a real treat for me. Look, say what you will about Ashcroft, he packs so much cheese and corn into this, you can either listen or make Doritos. I'm done explaining myself. Who are you to judge me?


1. Tony Snow Gets Ill on the Jazz Flute - It was a close call, but Tony rocks the hizzo on the flizzo. Ron Burgundy can't carry Tony's mouthpiece. I keep expecting the Devil to present him with a platinum clarinet or something. I would go so far as to say that Tony Snow is the Jimi Hendrix of political floutists. Are we experienced, indeed.

I hope you've enjoyed our little musical jaunt. Perhaps you'll put these gems on your iPod shuffle and go enjoy a nice bubble bath, or play them softly on the stereo as you woo your sweetheart by candlelight. For my part, I'm going to crank it up in the car and just...Let the Eagle Sooooooaaaaaarrrrr...