The Hypnotized Never Lie

While Hilary Clinton was content to let her supporters choose her theme song, the Ontario Progressive Conservative Party has asked Dalton McGuinty's detractors to pick one for him. "What tune best represents Dalton McGuinty's campaign?" asks their website, accompanied by a Say Anything–inspired pic of the premier (pictured at right). "Which lyrics do you think of when you see Liberal red? Their election campaign needs a theme song and here's your chance to play political DJ."

According to the PC's Digital Content Editor Grace Peacock, some of the front-runners as of yesterday morning were "Hit the Road Jack" by Ray Charles, "Won't Get Fooled Again" by The Who, "Would I Lie To You" by The Eurythmics, and "Give It Away" by The Red Hot Chili Peppers. Real original, conservatives! Besides, most of the songs suggested so far don't really seem to fit that well, aside from their titles. Consider "Won't Get Fooled Again": the Who's penultimate rock epic is about a revolution that, ultimately, changes nothing (from its final section: "There's nothing in the street / Looks any different to me / And the slogans are replaced, by-the-bye / And the parting on the left Is now the parting on the right /And the beards have all grown longer overnight"). The title is ironic, because they do get fooled again; the song climaxes with "Meet the new boss / Same as the old boss," which is probably not the message that the conservatives intend to get across.

Incongruities and nitpicking aside, the whole thing is kind of a cute idea, and it's doubtful that anyone, McGuinty included, will get particularly offended by it. That said, turnaround is fair play––surely there are some great recent Canadian songs that we can associate with good old Stephen Harper, right? What about "Ban Marriage" by the Hidden Cameras? "None Of You Will Ever See A Penny" by Final Fantasy? "Combat Baby" by Metric? The possibilities are endless...