McCain Revives Song Parody to Make Point on Iran

Sen. John McCain's straight talk took a musical curve on Wednesday when the 2008 Republican presidential candidate broke out in song in response to a question about possible military action against Iran.

Speaking to a group of veterans in the Murrells Inlet VFW Hall in South Carolina, McCain, perhaps loopy from cold medicine and speaking for nearly 90 minutes, invoked the Beach Boys' melody Barbara Ann to respond to a question about when the U.S. would "send an air mail message to Iran."

• Click here to watch McCain sing.

McCain answered by going into the song's paraphrased chorus: “Bomb bomb bomb, bomb bomb Iran.”

It's not the first time the song has been borrowed to express the sentiment. After the 1979 American embassy hostage crisis, a parody was created that has been revised in varying forms since the beginning of the war in Iraq.

• Click here to watch one parody on LetsBombIran.com.

While stopping short of answering whether he supports bombing Iran, McCain did tell his audience about his concerns with the Islamic Republic.

“Iran is dedicated to the destruction of Israel. That alone should concern us but now they are trying for nuclear capabilities. I totally support the president when he says we will not allow Iran to destroy Israel,” he said, according to the Georgetown Times.

Democratic White House hopeful Joe Biden said McCain was joking.

"I know John well and I know John does not take war lightly and I’m sure he would not have said that if he thought he was off the record and kidding," Biden, D-Del., told FOX News.

• Click here to read the Georgetown Times article.

In another radio-related topic, McCain also was asked whether he would try to get shock jock Don Imus back on the radio.

“I knew I should have ended this before now,” McCain joked with the crowd, before saying he did not think CBS Radio did the right thing by firing the shock jock for making a racist and sexist remark about the Rutgers women’s basketball team.

“What he did was unacceptable and despicable but I believe in redemption,” McCain said.

FOX News Radio Mike Majchrowitz contributed to this report.