Randy Newman's twisted campaign song

FREE DOWNLOAD OF THE DAY: In related news, Randy Newman has premiered a topical new song for download on his site. "I'm dreaming of a white President," he sings, "Just like the ones we've always had. A real live white man, who knows the score, how to handle money or start a war, wouldn't even have to tell me what we were fighting for." Randy’s imagined president isn’t perfect: he "won't have a pretty jump shot," and "He won't be the brightest, perhaps, but he'll be the whitest. And I'll vote for that." Not assuming anything, the brilliant satirist felt the need to explain that he typically writes in character and that listeners "can't always trust or believe the narrators" in his songs. "No other Western industrialized nation would’ve elected a black president,” he wrote. “I’m proud of this country for having elected Obama in 2008. But from the beginning of his term, I noticed a particular heat to conversations that wouldn’t ordinarily generate that kind of passion: The budget, appointments, health care. I think there are a lot of people who find it jarring to have a black man in the White House and they want him out. They just can't believe that there's not a more qualified white man. You won't get anyone, and I do mean anyone, to admit it." The song, titled “I’m Dreaming,” is free, but downloaders are urged to donate to the United Negro College Fund. (9/20a)