Right Now, Sammy Hagar And Van Halen Still Can’t Agree On Anything

noah | September 2, 2008 9:30 am
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John McCain’s Friday rally announcing that Sarah Palin would be his running mate on the Republican Presidential ticket* was capped by a rousing play of Van Halen’s “Right Now,” a song selection that put Van Halen’s management in a snit. “Permission was not sought or granted nor would it have been given,” an unidentified person in the Van Halen camp told TMZ. But tequila maven and longtime GOP supporter Sammy Hagar–who sang the lyrics that the McCain/Palin campaign was so inspired by–begs to disagree! He thinks “Right Now” is a song for everyone, no matter what the jerks who are now touring under the Van Halen banner might think.

“When I wrote the lyrics to “Right Now” I intended them to inspire people to not sit around and wait for something they believed in but to go out and get it — to make a change however they needed to,” said Sammy Hagar. “Whether it was McCain who used the song or if Obama had chosen to use the song, with the current political climate, the lyrics still have the same meaning, and we all need to do something to make a difference, every action counts. In fact, I still feel so strongly about this that I wrote a new song “Cosmic Universal Fashion” with a young Iraqi musician in an attempt to motivate a new generation to the same affect. I am pleased to be associated with the lyrics to my original song and the new one in hopes that both will make people move to make a difference.”

He may not be able to drive 55, but he can reach across the aisle–and promote his new song while he’s at it! Obviously, this tiff is the least of the McCain campaign’s problems right now, but I think that once things die down a bit, McCain, Palin, and all Van Halen members past and present should sit down for a nice dinner where they can talk all this stuff out. Hey, I know just what they can serve:

Statement From Sammy Hagar Regarding ‘Right Now’ Usage by John McCain [MarketWatch] Van Halen Mad At McCain [HuffPo]

* You know, during that innocent moment when she only seemed a little crazy and underqualified?