It’s been on my mind now for a few weeks. This whole Sarah Palin phenomenon has me somewhere between disappointed and resolute. Disappointed in that it is unbelievable that with so much going on in our world, with so much at stake in our country, that this shrewd, ambitious, and wholly unprepared politician could be VP in four weeks. Resolute in that I really hope that voters on the fence come to their senses and vote for a candidate based on what they know rather than their ability to sound like they’re from Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

But my blog today isn’t so much about the election as much as it is about my goofiness and my knowledge of goofy music. Since the ’84 campaign, both parties have used music to help structure their themes around patriotism, prosperity and peace. Campaigns have made use — or rather, misuse — of songs like John Mellencamp’s “Pink Houses,” Bruce Springsteen’s “Born in the U.S.A.,” Fleetwood Mac’s “Don’t Stop,” and even U2’s “City of Blinding Lights” over the past 24 years. The McCain campaign went with Heart’s “Barracuda” at the beginning of September. A song about uninhibited sexual desire was used to pump up the volume for the hockey mom who is also an evangelical Christian? Weird, just weird.

There are more appropriate songs for McCain-Palin. As far as I’m concerned, they’re all “Sara” songs. Hall & Oates has “Sara Smile.” Gov. Palin is extremely good at smiling, even when she’s calling Obama a terrorist sympathizer or talking about the issues of climate change and nuclear proliferation. The song, though, about love and inspiration from a loved one, and would only be appropriate for Palin and her husband to use. There’s also Fleetwood Mac’s “Sara.” It could be of use in the case of Gov. Palin, but given it’s connection to Stevie Nicks’ experiences of love and loss — not to mention the song’s ’70s-style slowness, it also wouldn’t be goofy enough.

So I’m left with Starship’s “Sara” from their ’85 album Knee Deep in the Hoopla (I unfortunately used to own it). Starship, formerly part of Jefferson Starship, which was Jefferson Airplane even before that, had former and reformed and split into two different bands over a fifteen-year-period because of the usual issues of sex, drugs and creative differences. A bit erratic I’d say, kind of like the McCain-Palin ticket itself.

But it’s the lyrics and their meaning that make Starship’s “Sara” work well in describing what
Gov. Palin has brought to the McCain campaign and could bring to our country. Let’s take a quick look:

First Verse:
Go now, don’t look back, weve drawn the line
Move on, it’s no good to go back in time

I’ll never find another girl like you, for happy endings it takes two
We’re fire and ice, the dream won’t come true

Chorus:
Sara, Sara, storms are brewin’ in your eyes
Sara, Sara, no time is a good time for goodbyes

Second Verse:
Danger in the game when the stakes are high
Branded, my heart was branded while my senses stood by

I’ll never find another girl like you, for happy endings it takes two
We’re fire and ice, the dream won’t come true

This easily could be McCain singing this in the shower as much as it could be the majority of the electorate singing in their heads about the McCain-Palin ticket come Election Day. Especially if you add the additional line “hurt me, no one could ever hurt me more.” This would definitely apply to all of us if McCain becomes president. It already applies to McCain, Obama and my ears.

Of course, to use Starship’s “Sara” as an electorate, we’d have to change a few words here and there. Like I’d change “I’ll never find another girl like you” to “I hope we never find another girl like you.” Or “We’re fire and ice, the dream won’t come true” to “We’re fire and ice, your dream wont come true.” I know that this is goofy, but trust me, it works. Work with me here. Think about the synthesized drums and acoustic card, not to mention Mickey Thomas’ voice and Grace Slick’s background vocals. I guarantee you Gov. Palin owns this song or the album.