As these decisions go, Sen. Barack Obama’s choice to mark his victory in the Iowa caucuses on “this January night, at this defining moment in history” with U2's “City of Blinding Lights” was a remarkable one. Not only does the song, about putting aside learned jaded responses and trusting enough to believe again, show that Obama is sophisticated enough to understand its nuances, but it shows that he believes that his followers will be sophisticated enough to get the message as well. (Either that or he thinks the chorus “Oh, you look so beautiful tonight” will just make people feel good about themselves or confuse it with “Beautiful Day.” Sorry, some jaded slipped through.)
“City of Blinding Lights” marks Obama’s campaign as different. He didn’t run some lame contest like Sen. Hillary Clinton to pick a campaign theme – the unfortunate, cloying Celine Dion song “You and I,” which has apparently been ditched recently for Big Head Todd and The Monsters’ “Blue Sky.” He didn’t go for the obvious like former Sen. John Edwards, who seems to be leaning toward John Mellencamp’s “Our Country.” And he didn’t try to misunderstand a popular song so that it would fit his message, as Ronald Reagan’s campaign famously did when it tried (and failed) to appropriate Bruce Springsteen’s “Born in the U.S.A.” for his re-election bid.
That said, “City of Blinding Lights,” inspired by the feeling the Irish band got when it first saw the lights of New York City on an early tour, is far from obtuse. “They’re advertising in the skies for people like us,” Bono sings early on, echoing Obama’s call for national unity.
By the time Bono gets to “The more you know, the less you feel” and “Some pray for, others steal. Blessings are not just for the ones who kneel... luckily,” it’s practically an indictment of the Bush/Cheney administration and all the allegations of corruption, while still tied up in the imagery of the religious.
That’s a lot to tuck into a campaign theme choice, but apparently Team Obama isn’t afraid to make a bold pick when it also appears to be the right one. At least, at this point in the campaign. (Oops, there’s that jaded thing again.)
PHOTO: Sen. Barack Obama in Iowa, by Win McNamee for Getty Images.
Comments (2)
Do you happen to know which U2 song was played prior to Sen. Obama speaking at the Kohl center in Madison, WI on 2-12-08? Thanks.
That was "City of Blinding Lights."
The video of it is here.