Michele Bachmann Turner Overdrive

Michele Bachmann Turner Overdrive: A Rally Music Fail

Michele Bachman's John Wayne (Gacy?) slip-up is probably a staffer-level oops. True, someone who makes such a point of bragging about Iowa origins should know the difference between Winterset and Waterloo. Even I know John Wayne's correct birthplace and I'm a cheesehead immigrant. But its easy enough to read the script wrong and misspeak.

What's more interesting to me, because rally music is always interesting to me, is the wrath of the Wilbury. Seems that Tom Petty is grouchy about Bachmann's use of "American Girl."

The song was a staple at Hillary Clinton events, usually faded before the unintentionally prescient line: "God it's so painful when something that's so close is still so far out of reach." But there's no record of Petty and his people objecting to that.

There IS record of Petty objecting to W using "I Won't Back Down" in 2000, but not to its subsequent use by... well, as you remember from caucus season 2007, every Democrat ever.

The point here isn't objecting to the use of the song quietly through a cease and desist letter. The point is Petty using his still-viable public profile to object to candidates he dislikes. See the collected Barracuda related complaints of the Wilson sisters circa September 2008.

Speaking of American girls, Jennifer Lawless writes: "If shattering the glass ceiling means supporting Michele Bachmann's presidential bid and the candidacy of a woman who is dramatically out of step with mainstream America, then I'd prefer to keep the ceiling intact. We can't afford to make that kind of history."

Bachman (ONE n) Turner Overdrive was unavailable for comment as they are Canadian. None of this is to be confused with Kathleen Turner Overdrive.