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Power, pop, and probings from ABC News Senior White House Correspondent Jake Tapper

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July 24, 2006 9:08 AM

Conjuction Junction

This weekend I happened upon some of the old Saturday morning videos of SCHOOL HOUSE ROCK, those fun educational cartoon shorts that aired on ABC from 1973 to 1985.

Aside from the enjoyment of hearing old tunes like "THREE IS A MAGIC NUMBER" or "INTERJECTION!", one thing struck me -- how intensely political some of the songs were from the patriotic AMERICA ROCK 'toons.

Perhaps as evidence of how intensely divided America seems to be these days, I just cannot imagine any TV network running a kid-targeted toon heralding immigration, as was the case with "GREAT AMERICAN MELTING POT."

Some lyrics:

"They brought the country's customs,
Their language and their ways.
They filled the factories, tilled the soil,
Helped build the U.S.A.
Go on and ask your grandma,
Hear what she has to tell
How great to be an American
And something else as well."

Not that all the toons would today be accused of lefty bias -- liberal groups would no doubt take issue with the way the song about American colonization ("NO MORE KINGS") ignores any mention of how early American settlers dealt with Native populations here....or the way "ELBOW ROOM" justified the concept of Manifest Destiny.

God knows in this day and age, someone would no doubt object to the song in favor of women's voting rights, "SUFFERIN 'TIL SUFFRAGE".... or to the fact that I just mentioned God.

The series had unapologetic views -- "that's called taxation without representation. And it's not fair!" -- that I feel all the richer having been raised learning.... And I dare say most of my fellow Gen Xers who know the words to the PREAMBLE to the U.S. Constitution do because of School House Rock.

Anyway.

More later...covering the White House today, and for added intrigue former President Bill Clinton campaigns for embattled Sen. Joe Lieberman today in Waterbury, CT...and our Nightline profile of powerhouse liberal blogger KOS may run tonight as well....

--jt

July 24, 2006 | Permalink | User Comments (4)

User Comments

CV - depends on what the 'Bill' was...his ear(mark)s were kinda small, so I don't think he came from today's House elephants...

-- the other crazy virgo

Posted by: phillygirl64 | Jul 24, 2006 6:04:20 PM

Even though I was a little older than the target audience, I'd watch those catchy "Schoolhouse Rock" segments with my younger sisters on Saturday mornings on ABC. I found them to be quite entertaining then, and so much so that I bought the collection that Disney released on DVD a couple of years ago. The craftsmanship of each segment was very high, especially in the music. One of my favorites ("The Bill") featured the trumpet and distinctive singing voice of jazz artist Jack Sheldon, while another ("Lolly and the Adverb") had a tune which is nearly impossible to get out of you mind. The creators of those segments knew how to make them memorable!

Posted by: chuck | Jul 24, 2006 3:03:27 PM

Indeed, Jake. It's how I learned about most of the poilitcal process. Turns out Schoolhouse Rock is pretty much as accurate as out history books.
What about "I'm on a Bill"....
"I'm just a bill.
Yes, I'm only a bill.
And I'm sitting here on Capitol Hill."

In the Schoolhouse Rock Version, the bill becomes a law; happy ending. Do you think in the modern-day version, the poor little cartoon bill would be dropped kicked cartoon-style off the Hill?

Posted by: crazyvirgo | Jul 24, 2006 11:36:16 AM

I have a little plastic 'Bill' perched on the shelf above my computer @ work...and I bought all of the videotapes when they came out (more than) a few years ago

This is the 2nd mention of SR I've seen recently; when he ended his blog @ TV Guide, the 'Televisionany' titled his last post 'Darn, That's The End!'

We need less of what passes for kid TV these days and more Schoolhouse Rock

Posted by: phillygirl64 | Jul 24, 2006 11:09:42 AM

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