Local Music Store Hearts Huckabee?

While StormWatch 2008 has been keeping the Militant from much of his reconnaissance missions, Decision 2008 has been the talk of the town - not just in Iowa and New Hampshire, but much more locally.

Aside from our City Council President and City Controller stumping for last week's Iowa Caucus Democratic winner, it seems at least one local business appears to be giving props to last week's GOP winner - or at least is riding on some free Mike Huckabee publicity.

Local music store chain West L.A. Music, with stores in Universal City and in...West Los Angeles (duh) recently splashed a pic of the bass guitar-playing Arkansas Republican posing with store staff on its website. The site also displayed an audio link and transcript of American Public Media's Weekend America radio show segment on Huckabee, which followed him on the campaign trail and featured the candidate (gratuitously?) mentioning the store by name when the topic suddenly shifts to music:

"McCartney was more innovative. Entwistle had a more traditional concept of the bass. But McCartney was the most innovative bass player of that era. He really was. And let me tell you this: I was in Los Angeles and I got to play John Entwistle's actual Thunderbird bass. It's at the West LA Music Company, and Don Griffin, the guy who owns that store, owns that guitar. And so he pulls it out, and I got to play on that guitar that he played on all The Who's earlier stuff."

"Mitt Romney will never play that guitar," I said.

Huckabee smiled. "If he did, he probably wouldn't play all that well."

With a month to go before the California Primary election, is this pretty much the store's endorsement of Huckabee? Or is it just cashing in on the election?

One thing's for sure, West L.A. Music's primary competitor, the Guitar Center music store chain (founded here in Southern California), most likely would not heart Huckabee, as the borg-like chain was recently purchased by the Massachusetts-based Bain Capital - a company founded by...this guy.

Of course, former governors with presidential ambitions displaying their musical talents on television is not a new concept. So maybe for his own sake, Mitt might want to pick up the bass himself.

Who knows? Perhaps the Republican nomination might be ultimately decided by a game of Guitar Hero.