It's not every day that a senior official in a Republican Administration quotes song lyrics from an irreverent, punk-influenced pop band. Then again, Stewart Baker is probably not your average Bush Administration official. Baker is assistant secretary for policy in the Department of Homeland Security. On Thursday, he quoted Bowling for Soup's hit song "1985" in a speech on immigration at the Heritage Foundation, as Kathryn Lopez noted on The Corner.

Bowling for Soup is a fun band. They write catchy rock songs with clever and inventive lyrics. I think of them as a Texas version of Blink 182 with less attitude and a better sense of humor. It also doesn't hurt that they have a song called "Ohio" that talks about Cleveland. In concert they put on quite a good show, mixing strong renditions of their album tracks, substantial audience interaction, and a good bit of humor. "1985" is probably their biggest hit to date (and it is one of their more amusing videos, available here).

Debbie just hit the wall
She never had it all
One Prozac a day
Husband's a CPA
Her dreams went out the door
When she turned twenty-four
Only been with one man
What happened to her plan?

She was gonna be an actress
She was gonna be a star
She was gonna shake her ass
On the hood of Whitesnake's car
Her yellow SUV
Is now the enemy
Looks at her average life
And nothin, has been all right

Since Bruce Springsteen, Madonna
Way before Nirvana
There was U2 and Blondie
And music still on MTV
Her two kids in high school
They tell her that she's uncool
'Cause she's still preoccupied
With 19-, 19-, 1985

She's seen all the classics
She knows every line
"Breakfast Club", "Pretty In Pink"
Even "St. Elmo's Fire"
She rocked out to Wham!
Not a big Limp Bizkit fan
Thought she'd get a hand
On a member of Duran Duran

Where's the mini-skirt made of snakeskin?
And who's the other guy that's singing in Van Halen?
When did reality become T.V.?
What ever happened to sitcoms, game shows
On the radio was . . .

Springsteen, Madonna
way before Nirvana
There was U2 and Blondie
And music still on MTV
Her two kids in high school
They tell her that she's uncool
'Cause she's still preoccupied
With 19-, 19-, 1985

She hates time, make it stop
When did Motley Crue become classic rock?
And when did Ozzy become an actor?
Please make this stop, stop,
And bring back

Springsteen, Madonna
way before Nirvana
There was U2 and Blondie
And music still on MTV
Her two kids in high school
They tell her that she's uncool
'Cause she's still preoccupied
With 1985