Randy Newman I'm Dreaming Political Satire: New Song From Perspective of a Racist Voter

I just lost 3 minutes and 17 seconds of my life that I will never get back. I wanted to watch the whole video, as I thought there might be some moral in the end, some clarity or clear call to vote. The video is a for a new song by Grammy-winger singer Randy Newman, the man who most recently won the Best Original Song for "We Belong Together" in Toy Story 3. 

According to the Associated Press, Newman is playing the race card through his song "I'm Dreaming." Never mind the fact that race is not a card to be played. It is either a reality of existence, something you are born into and grow into an understanding of (ideally), or is something you learn about through others. No card game that I have yet played can claim a race card, so let's stop using the term. Nonetheless, Newman uses race as a the central focus of his new song, in which he assumes the position of a racist voter, who just wants to vote for a white person.

As Newman's website states, "With lyrics from the viewpoint of a voter who casts his ballot solely based on skin color, the song draws attention to something Newman has noticed and written about for 40 years: racism in America ... anyone wishing to contribute is encouraged to donate to the United Negro College Fund at www.uncf.org."

The lyrics are slightly entertaining, if you like that kind of mock-racism type of thing: "A real live white man, who knows the score, how to handle money or start a war, wouldn't even have to tell me what we were fighting for ... He won't be the brightest, perhaps, but he'll be the whitest."

Though he does not believe people will admit it, Newman thinks, "there are a lot of people who find it jarring to have a black man in the White House and they want him out."

As quoted in the New York Times blog, Newman said he was worried there, “may be backlash from conservatives.” Perhaps the next song will be a satire against Obama? It all seems a bit strange and silly. I am curious to see if there is a boost in funding for the United Negro College Fund. Somehow, I doubt it.