The Country's in the Very Best of Hands

That's one of the songs Johnny Mereer and Gene DePaul wrote for the musical, "Li'l Abner," and it's full of the irony and sardonic humor Al Capp so often expressed.

But the musical we want to remember today is "Of Thee I Sing," written by George S. Kaufman and Morrie Ryskind, with songs by George and Ira Gershwin. The first production ran for 441 performances, beginning in 1931, and it was the first musical to win a Pulitzer Prize.

In the story, John P. Wintergreen runs for president on the Love ticket, and while the score includes the song "We'll Impeach Him," the most memorable is "Love Is Sweeping the Country." Sample refrain:

                      "Love is sweeping the country;
                       Waves are hugging the shore;
                                  All the sexes
                                  From Maine to Texas
                       Have never known such love before."

A cheering sentiment for today.

And we leave you with a consoling thought for those distressed by the end of all the fun of the US Presidential Election campaign: only two more years, and there'll be another!