By Gary Almeter
Of all the pundits, pollsters, prophets, and prognosticators lamenting the dearth of civility, the lack of substance, and the general erosion of intellect that has punctuated the 2016 election, the person for whose mellifluous musings America most yearns for remains Belinda Carlisle. And yet the former lead singer of the Go-Go’s remains noticeably and painfully absent from political discourse. It's like the world is about to end because Lex Luther is about to depress the detonators and everyone is wondering where Superman is because he, like Carlisle, has disappeared.
Or has she?
It would seem the cheesy sound bites, the preoccupation with how men and women grab one another and where, and the self-aggrandizement of 2016 aren’t new cultural developments. Can you guess whether or not the following are Belinda Carlisle songs or U.S. Presidential Campaign slogans? Award yourself five Go-Go’s points for every correct answer, and award America next Tuesday by voting!
We Can Change
Change We Need
Tanned Rested and Ready
We Want the Same Thing
Not Just Peanuts
Mad About You
I Like Dick
Let Well Enough Alone
Heaven is A Place on Earth
There’s No Indispensable Man
Live Your Life Be Free
You’re Nothing Without Me
Don’t Swap Horses Midstream
Runaway Horses
It’s Morning Again in America
I Get Weak
Nobody Owns Me
Circle in the Sand
Whatever It Takes
Leave a Light On
A Chicken In Every Pot
Feel the Bern
I Feel the Magic
Lay Down Your Arms
Let Us Have Peace
Who is James K. Polk?
Answer Key
Belinda Carlisle Song: 1, 4, 6, 9, 11, 12, 14, 16, 18, 19, 20, 23, 24
U.S. Presidential Campaign Slogan: 2 (Barack Obama, 2008), 3 (Bobby Jindal, 2016), 5 (Jimmy Carter, 1976), 7 (Richard Nixon, 1960), 8 (William McKinley, 1900), 10 (Wendell Willkie, 1940), 13 (Franklin Roosevelt, 1944), 15 (Ronald Reagan, 1980), 21 (Herbert Hoover, 1928), 22 (Bernie Sanders, 2016), 25 (Ulysses S. Grant, 1868), 26 (Henry Clay, 1844)
Both: 17 (Donald Trump, 2016, and Belinda Carlisle, 1987)