As the presidential campaign starts to rev up in its final stages, the candidates have found themselves making last-ditch appeals to the voting public. This past week in Ohio, former president Bill Clinton and rock legend Bruce Springsteen went campaigning for Barack Obama, with The Boss even performing the song "Youngstown," specifically written for the key battleground state. In addition, 3 Doors Down and Foo Fighters recently performed at the Republican and Democratic National Conventions, respectively. In light of these mergers between politics and music, we've decided to speculate what songs might appear on the candidates' iPods. Not surprisingly, these songs seem to say a lot about their political character.
ROMNEY/RYAN
"Somebody That I Used To Know" by Gotye: As Massachusetts reflects on the changes in ideology Mitt Romney has undergone since his first senatorial campaign in 1994, they can't help but wonder if they still know the man who used to be their governor.
"Mo Money Mo Problems" by The Notorious B.I.G.: In a campaign dealing heavily with the economic woes of the country, Romney's vast array of personal assets hasn't granted him an image of a champion for the working class.
"Careless Whisper" by George Michael: A lot of fuss was made over Governor Romney's infamous off-the-record "47 percent" comments, captured by a covert camera in May. He clearly wishes now that he would have been a little more careful with his remarks.
OBAMA/BIDEN
"Where Have You Been" by Rihanna: President Obama's lack of a timely response in the attack on the U.S. consulate in Benghazi, Libya has many wondering why it took his administration 14 days to declare the deaths of four Americans an "act of terror." Mitt Romney suggested that he was busy campaigning instead of investigating this foreign policy debacle.
"Blame It" by Jamie Foxx: After a critically panned first debate, Obama was left looking for something to blame for his less than stellar performance. Consequently, he spent much of the second debate blaming Republican policy of the past decade for the country's current economic state.
"Eye In The Sky" by the Alan Parsons Project: President Obama's foreign policy has been under much scrutiny as of late, particularly in the Middle East. His use of drone strikes in Pakistan has led some to portray him and the US military as a type of "Big Brother" figure in the War on Terror.
HIDDEN TRACK
As we thought about the major candidates, we couldn't help but think of one more infamous candidate from this year's race.
"We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together" by Taylor Swift: We can only assume that this song might be chosen to show that, in light of an unsuccessful campaign, libertarian standard-bearer Ron Paul and the Republican Party will no longer be joining forces.