“We would like to apologize for the way in which politicians are represented in this programme. It was never our intention to imply that politicians are weak-kneed, political time-servers who are concerned more with their personal vendettas and private power struggles than the problems of government, nor to suggest at any point that they sacrifice their credibility by denying free debate on vital matters in the mistaken impression that party unity comes before the well-being of the people they supposedly represent nor to imply at any stage that they are squabbling little toadies without an ounce of concern for the vital social problems of today. Nor indeed do we intend that viewers should consider them as crabby ulcerous little self-seeking vermin with furry legs and an excessive addiction to alcohol and certain explicit sexual practices which some people might find offensive. We are sorry if this impression has come across.” — Monty Python’s Flying Circus
On Tuesday, Atrios reported that “Bush signed the Medicare Bill while Sousa’s Liberty Bell March was playing in the background.” Sousa’s March, as you may be aware, was the theme music for Monty Python’s Flying Circus. Unfortunately, I haven’t been able to find confirmation of this, since the only video clip I can find comes right after the fact; it shows the speeches and the signing but nothing beforehand. The New York Times does report that “the public address system played John Philip Sousa marches as they filed through the doors.” But Sousa also wrote “Stars and Stripes Forever”, which is definitely what’s playing on that C-Span clip.
I’ll be sort of disappointed if this isn’t true.