Brooks & Dunn it is, then

The poor man's Bruce Springsteen has prevailed upon the poor man's Ronald Reagan to cease and desist with the campaign tunes:

In an e-mail this week to campaign manager Rick Davis, Mellencamp's publicist suggested McCain should find the singer's rousing classic-rockers like "Pink Houses" and "Our Country" to be an "embarrassment."

"Mr. Mellencamp identifies very strongly with the progressive wing of the Democratic Party and was supportive (with these same songs!) of the candidacy of John Edwards . . ."

Back in the day, the real Springsteen was similarly taken aback at the real Reagan's comically misguided reading of Bruce's powerful antiwar anthem, Born in the U.S.A. Republicans, they never learn.

One for the road: The River