MONEY, POLITICS AND ROCK 'N' ROLL

Remember this 1992 campaign speech by the first President Bush?:

"(Bill Clinton)was in Hollywood, seeking foreign policy advice from the rock group U2. Now, understand, I have nothing against U2. You may not know this, but they tried to call me at the White House every night during their concert. But the next time we face a foreign policy crisis, I will work with John Major and Boris Yeltsin. And Bill Clinton can consult Boy George. I'll stay with the experts."

It looks like the former president's boy, George has a different idea.

And while Bush 43 is lunching with Bono in the White House, some of his fellow Republicans -- as well as some Democrats -- are using U2 concerts as a fund-raising device.

"The Irish rock band U2 is doing its best to disassociate itself from members of Congress’s plans to use the group’s 2005 world tour to raise money, but the band remains a political cash cow.

"Debt AIDs Trade Africa (DATA), an advocacy group founded by U2’s lead singer, Bono, issued a statement last week separating the band from any political activity that might take place at its concerts after some media outlets continued misreporting a story that Sen. Rick Santorum (R-Pa.) and U2 had teamed up for a $1,000-a-seat concert in Philadelphia on Sunday. The stories reported that Santorum and others were buying private skyboxes and selling the seats to donors."

I dunno. I kind of liked it better when conservative politicians used to trip all over themselves to denounce the evils of rock 'n' roll.


Oh well, apparently Rush Limbaugh, whose loathing of "long-haired, dope-smoking, maggot-infested rock stars" is well articulated, hasn't jumped on the U2 bandwagon. (Of course my favorite Rush rock criticism was back in 2002. In a fine example of synchronicity, I was driving to work having just written my review of the late Joey Ramone's solo album. I turned on the radio and Rush was in a froth because The Ramones had been inducted into the Rock 'n' Roll Hall of Fame and the Moody Blues hadn't.)

All I can say is where have you gone, Frank Zappa? A nation turns its lonely eyes to you!