The Result is In: Musical Division

I know that most people will likely be watching election coverage tonight, rather than reading any ramblings here. But who knows, I might find reason to write something later in the evening, since a lot of results will be reported early here in California, while much of the rest of the country is nearing (or past) bed time.

Still, though, I thought that I should post something. And I figured this would be a nice thing that fit in well. I've posted a lot of songs in the past from Fiorello!, a musical I dearly love, based on the true story of the early career of Fiorello LaGuardia, leading up to his election as New York City mayor. But I haven't posted this song yet. It's wonderful -- beautifully crafted with different themes overlapping one another, finally breaking into multiple counterpart, and very funny in its human whimsy. It's sung by the party organization, led by their boss played by Howard Da Silva (who many people will know for playing 'Ben Franklin' in another political musical, 1776), and comes the morning after the election. They had a sacrificial candidate running for Congress against the corrupt Tammany organization, knowing they had no chance and haven't had a chance in the district for a very long time. So, when the young reform lawyer Fiorello LaGuardia showed up wanting to be the candidate, the party was thrilled to have someone to be on the ballot, even though it would mean he'd get crushed, the odds being so heavily against him and his party. So, just having anyone to run was more than they expected. And to their utter shock, the organizers stumble into the campaign office the next morning having learned that "The Bum Won."