I have no interest in ever bringing politics into these columns, but this bit o' news from earlier this week is too… noteworthy to ignore. It’s noteworthy in a way that transcends all partisan divisions and party alliances. If an American presidential candidate from the Democratic party, Reform party or Green party, et cetera ad nauseam, ever quoted the theme song to POKEMON 2000 repeatedly throughout his campaign, you better believe it would get commiserate attention.
As it happens, it’s Republican candidate Herman Cain who’s done the quoting, alternately ascribing the lyrics to “a poet” or to “the closing song of the 2000 Winter Olympics” because they’re presumably more acceptable sources of inspiration. Observers sniffed out the true source pretty early on and it’s perhaps doubly bizarre that he’d only admit to his POKEMON fandom (in a Huffington Post article) once accusations of sexual harassment forced him to suspend his presidential campaign.
The song in question is, indeed, Donna Summers' “The Power of One,” which did, indeed, serve as the theme to POKEMON 2000 and was never actually included in any programming related to the 2000 Winter Olympics.
Compare…
…and contrast.
Odds are, Cain probably heard this song while watching the movie with his kids sometime. If it struck him so profoundly, power to him, but I do find it terribly amusing that he’d feel inspired enough by it to quote its lyrics in a debate, yet embarrassed enough by to it to come up with more respectable-sounding sources.
later on he talked about 9.9.9 tax plan, which was supposedly cam from Sims series.
omg, with the pokemon vote he could lock this thing up. I'm pretty sure there's at least 10 million pokemons at this point.
Though some of them are probably Japanese.
I love that he specifically quoted the song. I also love that he owned up and wasn't afraid to be inspired by Pokemon.
Pokemon the Movie 2000 is the best Pokemon movie.
So he heard a part of a song...liked it...and then used a part of it in a speech.
What does this have to do with Pokemon at all? Yes I am aware it was part of the theme song...but that still does not answer the question.
Off topic but I want to just say that I called Newt getting the nomination when he had single digit poll numbers.
This is news from earlier this week? I swear I heard about this ages ago.
Anyway, from what I've heard this guy was just a big publicity stunt and was never serious in the first place. But I don't really care about politics anyway so I don't know if that was actually the case or not.
@TehFlan said:
And Herman Cain is the worst person to be president
My middle school principle loved this flapping song so much it was played multiple times a week over the PA before or after (I forget which) the pledge and we sang it as our graduation song..... I didn't know where it was from till after the fact even though I enjoyed Pokemon at the time but still....
@TehFlan said:
Yes it is, but it's also the best Movie.
This is the earlier incident. In the later one, he actually attributes it to the movie.
He probably read the quote somewhere without realizing it's source (hence "a poet once said...") and, after being called on it, decided to go all-in rather than run away. Good choice.
Can't believe he quoted this and not "I want to be, the very best, like no one ever was."
@finaldasa: so many better anime qutoes he could have used though....I mean this one is kind of sappy and childish...but then it is pokemon...now if he had been quoting Gurren Lagen..
@MrASSH0LE said:
@AgentJ said:
I can agree with both of these statements.
Some people are saying he probably heard it here or there. He probably had never heard it before, many politicians have speech writers. I wouldn't doubt that some young writer slipped it in there either accidentally or on purpose.
@obscurefan said:
That quote would've been a bit more obvious, but either way, it's more of a publicity stunt than anything else even though discovering the coincidence is a bit funny.
@zaldar: He's a beginner, let him eat pizza and watch his pokemon for now lol
penis I choose you!
LMAO I first heard about the Pokemon references on the Daily Show, to be fair he did say to quote the pokemon movie first, so he fully acknowledged the source....'
EDIT: At the end of his campaign in his concession anyways
I heard about this on the podcast MBMBAM.