Folks like Weird Al Yankovic elevate musical parody to an art form. Then you have folks like John McCain’s current opponent, Rodney Glassman.
Glassman and McCain are engaged in a musical war, and this entry is side-splittingly hilarious, though not for the reasons Glassman probably intended. Outside of a few random pictures of volunteers, constituents, and Smokey the Bear, the only people in the video are Glassman and his band. Aside from missing the chance to highlight his supporters, the viewer gets plenty of awkward shots of Glassman rocking out. Wouldn’t it have been better to have volunteers signing along, or Glassman and his orchestra singing to crowds rather than an empty field?
At the end, Glassman proclaims, “Four decades in Washington, D.C. is far too long!” True. While we’re on the subject, four minutes is far too long for a web video to get to the point. Glassman didn’t have to write a whole song – 30 seconds, plus a brief call to action would do. And speaking of a call to action – why was the song directed at John McCain? Shouldn’t he have been talking to his supporters? After all, they weren’t there for the video shoot.
You may be asking, “Why waste time writing about a web video (even a really bad one) in a race that isn’t competitive?” A race being unwinnable isn’t an excuse to stop trying to win. With an effective race, Glassman could build an organization that would position him for a run at Jon Kyl in 2012 or some other statewide office. (With a recording deal unlikely, future political races seem like a safer career choice.)
Jim Eltringham 