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Name That Tune

Now that Mike's examined the trivial matter of what Sarah Palin should say tonight, I thought I'd turn my attention to the more weighty issue of what music she should pick to finish off her appearance.

I can think of only four songs that have obvious Alaska references, and none of them would seem to be appropriate for a GOP convention. The Velvet Underground's "Stephanie Says" gets dq'd for being too dark. The same goes for Lou Reed's updating of that song--now called "Caroline Says" and packed with explicit drug and domestic abuse references. (A good rule of thumb: no Lou Reed song whose title is a woman's name followed by "says" will ever get any air time at a political function, even if the presidential candidate is named Candy or Lisa.) Michelle Shocked's "Anchorage" might be too easily mistaken for a song by k.d. lang, who's gay and is therefore of course verboten at a GOP convention. And then Johnny Cash's "When It's Springtime in Alaska" might work, what with its references to mushing and snow packs and caribou, but Roseanne Cash has declared that neither party should co-opt her late father in the current campaign, so that song's presumably off-limits.

Only two songs with Sarah titles occur to me. Dylan's "Sara" doesn't work, since I don't think Steve Schmidt et al really want swing voters thinking of Palin as a "Scorpio Sphinx in a calico dress." And Jefferson Starship's "Sarah" is just a god awful song, although the chorus of "no time is a good time for goodbyes" might send a signal that McCain isn't going to dump Palin from the ticket.

Anyway, I bet Palin steers clear of "Alaska" and "Sarah" references altogether and go with something predictable and safe, like Carrie Underwood's "All-American Girl." If you've got any suggestions, offer them in TalkBack.

P.S. Of course, Palin could do a little political/musical jujutsu, a la Obama's use of Bush's old campaign song, Brooks & Dunn's "Only In America," by playing something by the Bush-bashing Dixie Chicks.

--Jason Zengerle