Just when you thought Randy Newman traded in scathing commentary for Oscar gold (thanks to those treacly Pixar ditties), the man who once took on short people just released a biting new song. The politically-charged “I’m Dreaming” re-imagines Irving Berlin’s Christmas staple (I’m Dreaming Of A White Christmas) as an anti-Obama anthem. While Newman supports the president, the narrator in the satirical song is “dreaming of a white President/Someone whom we can understand/Someone who knows where we’re coming from.”
Newman is offering the song as a free download on his website where he explained: “No other Western industrialized nation would’ve elected a black president. 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.”
He also encourages listeners to donate to the United Negro College Fund.