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Music Cues: A Sinatra Song for Every Occasion?
December 16, 2000
This week, the New York City Board of Education announced that a school of the arts would
be opened in Queens and named for Frank Sinatra. Now why name a high school after a
man who called himself a `saloon' singer, as opposed to a distinguished politician, scholar,
soldier or shortstop? Well, some of us believe there's a Sinatra song for almost every
occasion and emotion in life, even the unprecedented ones.
Mr. FRANK SINATRA: (Singing) Here's to the winners. Lift up the glasses.
SIMON: The whole post-election melodrama of 2000 began back on November 8th in the
wee small hours of the morning. Al Gore was sure that he'd won Florida and that ballots
should be counted the second time around. George W. Bush felt he'd already won the
presidency and protested, (singing) `They can't take that away from me.'
Democrats complained about the bewildering butterfly ballot in West Palm Beach that may
have registered thousands of Al Gore votes for Pat Buchanan, but it turned out that
Democrats had designed that ballot--`send in the clowns.' When Republican Secretary of
State Katherine Harris insisted on certifying the original state vote, her partisanship was
criticized, but also her appearance. Now instead of saying `how little it matters,' some
so-called political analysts charged, `The lady is a tramp.' But for Republicans, Ms. Harris
was `too marvelous for words.'
When the Florida Supreme Court permitted a partial recount, Mr. Gore had `high hopes.'
Election judges squinted and squinched to detect dangling chads while attorneys from both
campaigns looked on--`someone to watch over me.' But when Miami-Dade County decided
not to recount ballots, the count fell short for Mr. Gore. Instead of being (singing), `Fly me to
the moon,' he went to court saying, `The best is yet to come.' When some Democrats had
doubts, he persisted, `I'll do it my way.' You know we'd have to work that in there.
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