World, meet “Hillary4U&Me.” Upon first seeing the pro-Clinton clip–to call it a “music video” would suggest that the years 1982-2008 never happened–I wondered whether it was part of a sadistic plot on the part of the Obama campaign to convince the few remaining sentient beings who believe Clinton is “cool” that she is, in fact, not. But alas–this is user-generated content. The ceaseless, maniacally delighted dancing; the grinning Asian flautist; the lyric “The world is getting hot / But our global warming plan is not;” and the song itself, which sounds sort of like a commercial jingle for a used futon store circa 1979, only less catchy–all of it is the brainchild of a real live Hillary supporter named Gene Wang, a 50-year-old entrepreneur from Palo Alto, Calif.
According to a Jan. 30 article on Palo Alto Online, Wang wrote the song late last year and quickly taped the video at the local University Club. In its first three months on YouTube, the clip netted only 1,100 views. The silence seemed, for a time, to validate an ancient truth: that the only people who can get away with the abbreviation “4U” are 12-year old girls, or Prince. But today, Wang’s hit counter shot up to 5,000, then 10,000. The reason: the video was randomly picked up on a handful of political blogs. Now that it’s in the bloodstream, expect views to skyrocket over the next few days, as every Obama fan on earth forwards the link to friends and family as (self-gratifying) “evidence” that the stereotypes about the candidates’ supporters–Obama: iPhone; Clinton: fanny pack–are true. I received my first email while writing this item. “It hurts,” wrote the sender. “It really does.”
Painful or not, I’m not the type to fault a candidate for attracting dorky, flute-playing fans. But apparently Clinton is culpable, too. According to Wang, the New York senator actually heard a live rendition of “Hillary4U&Me” at a January fundraiser in nearby Atherton–and “loved it.”
That’s 2 much 2 4give.
