Pat Paulsen for President

• Artist: Pat Paulsen
• Rating:
• Release Date: 1968
• Total Time: 38:42
• Genre: Spoken Word

Review

This comedy disc features a mockumentary of comedian and political satirist Pat Paulsen's nomination for the presidency of the United States in 1968. What began as a running gag on The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour became -- for a while -- national news. Paulsen's campaign -- while wrought with fallacy-filled rhetoric and a non-commonsensical approach -- ultimately garnered him a tremendous write-in campaign from voters. Pat Paulsen for President documents the sequence of events that led to the announcement -- or more accurately revelation -- that the comedian intended to not only run for office, but also had as much support as any other non-affiliated candidate. Although some of the humor is admittedly dated, the presiding sentiments of Paulsen and his supporters have continued to echo. The proceedings are hosted by Ralph Story, who is perhaps best known for his television series Ralph Story's Los Angeles (which ran from 1964 through 1970) and as the one-time host of The $64,000 Pyramid. The album is strung around a series of soundbites taken -- for the most part -- from Paulsen's editorial monologues on the Smothers Brothers' show. There are also a few pseudo-biographical cuts -- such as "Meet the Candidate" and "Humble Beginnings" -- that feature only Story's narration. Moments such as "Victory Rally," in which the fervor of a Paulsen-led public address whips into a Hitler-esque tirade, as well as the biting press conference send-up "Questions and Evasions," are eerie in their accuracy about political processes. The star of the disc is Paulsen's seemingly unintended -- though heavily scripted -- bumbling and accidentally honest answers to the types of questions that would have sent other candidates to an early retirement. Typical among them is his sentiment that marijuana should be kept away from kids -- "because it is too good for them." ~ Lindsay Planer, All Music Guide

Tracks

Track Title	Composers	Performers	Time
Meet the Candidate		Pat Paulsen	(1:30)
Tow Cows		Pat Paulsen	(2:43)
Soldier's Lament		Pat Paulsen	(1:53)
Freedom to Censor		Pat Paulsen	(2:45)
I Will Not Run		Pat Paulsen	(2:23)
I Will Not Serve		Pat Paulsen	(2:35)
Critics Attack		Pat Paulsen	(1:17)
Counter-Attack		Pat Paulsen	(:38)
Formal Announcement		Pat Paulsen	(1:43)
In Your Gourd, You Know He's Good		Pat Paulsen	(:45)
Bandwagon		Pat Paulsen	(1:17)
Humble Beginning		Pat Paulsen	(1:25)
Age of Reason		Pat Paulsen	(2:45)
Ruthless Denial		Pat Paulsen	(:35)
Big Shot		Pat Paulsen	(2:32)
Victory Rally		Pat Paulsen	(1:37)
Meet the Prez		Pat Paulsen	(5:15)
Questions and Evasions		Pat Paulsen	(:45)
Messing Around		Pat Paulsen	(1:14)
Simple Savior		Pat Paulsen	(3:05)

Credits

Gary Blair (Producer), Cecil Tuck (Producer)