We all know Harry Shearer can sing. What we didn't know is that he can sing, be funny, and hate the Bush administration all at the same time. (I hear he can also rub his belly and pat his head in unison, but this may just be the kind of mythologizing one expects to find on the Internet.) I caught up with Mr. Shearer electronically (as is the fashion) to talk about his new album Songs Of The Bushmen and why he wants to date Ann Coulter.




So, you don't like Bush, huh? What's up with that? What did he ever do to you?
He allowed Dick Cheney to select himself to be Vice President. Then he allowed Dick Cheney to put his ideas of executive power--i.e., the executive has all the power--into action. Then there was the Iraq thing. Pakistan met all the criteria--had WMD, had attacked its neighbor, harbored terrorists--but somehow we went after Iraq. Nutty. Finally, he lost the ability to pronounce his sibilants correctly, and that just tore it for me.

You hit a little snag with your billboard advertisements. What did you do to bother the extremely level-headed Clear Channel company?
Apparently, we agreed to send the check a little too early in the transaction. I think that upset their sense of decorum.

Why do you think conservatives always put the word 'the' before technological breakthroughs? (THE Google, THE Internets)
They're just more polite. Or should I say, the more polite.

Is there anything you could discover about President Bush that would make you like him more? (Mental retardation, alien brain implants, etc)
I'd have to think twice if I found out he was a fan of Fountains of Wayne.

Whom should we invade next?
I'd say Mexico. Less transport and logistical problems, and all their more energetic people have already migrated here. Hey, Eliot Abrams, talk about a cakewalk!

Are you going to secretly miss Bush when he's out of office? You know, cause he's fodder for the humor?
He's fodder, he's mudder, he's de whole damn family. But I agree with the founders, power turns anybody to crap. And crap is my raw material.

If you had to go on a date with one conservative pundit (male or female) who would it be and why?
Ann Coulter. Just to make her eat. Something.