Dear Mr. President

"Dear Mr. President"
Single by Pink featuring Indigo Girls
from the album I'm Not Dead
A-side	"Leave Me Alone (I'm Lonely)"
Released	December 21, 2006
Format	Digital download, CD single
Recorded	2005 The Magic Shop, NYC and Three Sound Studios, Norcross, GA
Genre	Soft rock acoustic country rock
Length	4:33
Label	LaFace
Writer(s)	Pink, Billy Mann
Producer(s)	Pink, Billy Mann
Certification	Gold ARIA (Australia) IFPI (Austria, Germany)
Pink singles chronology "Nobody Knows" (2006) "Dear Mr. President" (2006) "Leave Me Alone (I'm Lonely)" (2007) Indigo Girls singles chronology "Peace Tonight" (1999) "Dear Mr. President" (2006) "What Are You Like" (2009)

“Dear Mr. President” is a song by Pink featuring the Indigo Girls, and was recorded for Pink’s fourth album, I'm Not Dead. The song is an open letter to then President of the United States, George W. Bush. The song criticizes several areas of Bush’s administration and terms in office, including the Iraq War, No Child Left Behind Act, disapproval of equal rights for homosexuals, lack of empathy for poor and middle class citizens, Bush’s strong religious beliefs, and Bush’s drinking and drug usage in college. Pink felt that it was one of the most important songs she had ever written.

Critical response

The song received mostly positive reviews from music critics. Bill Lamb noted that Pink has rarely made songs about social problems: "the searing anti-Bush "Dear Mr. President" (...) "a folkie singalong" (...) The Indigo Girls lend their sizable instrumental and background vocal punch" and he highlighted it.^[1] Robert Christgau noted that Pink thinks "Bush did coke and teens care about the homeless."^[2] Entertainment Weekly described Dear Mr. President "with its incongruous folkie social concern and Bush-baiting applause lines."^[3] Los Angeles Times said that Pink taps her inner Ani DiFranco on the confrontational "Dear Mr. President."^[4] NY Times noted that the song is "well meaning" and "hectoring" and that it grows even more sententious.^[5] PopMatters praised the single with long overview: "Oh, and speaking of presidents, Pink’s musical letter to the Commander-in-Chief (“Dear Mr. President”) is just as topical. The Indigo Girls tag along for moral support and, with lyrics like “How can you say, ‘no child is left behind’ / we’re not dumb and we’re not blind” or “You’ve come a long way, from whiskey and cocaine”, you just know that if she’d made the song a few years earlier, it would have been featured in Michael Moore’s Fahrenheit 911. You also get the impression that this is personal for Pink, that she’s not doing it to be trendy. On the lyric page for “Dear Mr. President”, there’s a picture of Pink in an oval frame. Red, white, and blue ribbons are tied to the frame and her father’s dog tags share the reddish page."^[6] Rolling Stone told that Pink writes a scathing letter in "Dear Mr. President" ("You've come a long way from whiskey and cocaine!") and critic praised "cooing righteous folk harmonies with Indigo Girls."^[7] Sal Cinquemani was mixed: ""Dear Mr. President," which cleverly uses George W. Bush's own words against him, pales next to Missundaztood's "My Vietnam."^[8]

Track listings

• Digital Single

1. "Dear Mr. President" – 4:33
2. "Leave Me Alone (I'm Lonely)" – 3:18
3. "Dear Mr. President" [Live from Wembley Arena] – 4:45
4. "Leave Me Alone (I'm Lonely)" [Live] – 4:44

• UK Collector's Set CD1

1. "Dear Mr. President" – 4:33
2. "Dear Mr. President" [Live from Wembley Arena] – 4:45
3. "Leave Me Alone (I'm Lonely)" [Live] – 4:44
4. "Dear Mr. President" [Video] - 5:00

• UK Collector's Set CD2

1. "Dear Mr. President" – 4:33
2. "Leave Me Alone (I'm Lonely)" – 3:18
3. "Dear Mr. President" [Live] – 4:45
4. "Live From Wembley Trailer" [Video] – 0:59

• Germany Collector's Set CD1

1. "Dear Mr. President" – 4:33
2. "Dear Mr. President" [Live from Wembley Arena] – 4:45
3. "Leave Me Alone (I'm Lonely)" – 3:18
4. "Live From Wembley Trailer" [Video] – 0:59

• Germany Collector's Set CD2

1. "Dear Mr. President" – 4:33
2. "Who Knew" [Live From Wembley Arena] – 3:29
3. "Dear Mr. President" [Live from Wembley Arena] – 4:45

• Australian Tour Collector's Set CD1

1. "Dear Mr. President" – 4:33
2. "Who Knew" [Live From Wembley Arena] – 3:30
3. "Dear Mr. President" [Live From Wembley Arena] – 4:45
4. "On The Road With Pink" [Video] – 10:00

• Australian Tour Collector's Set CD2

1. "Dear Mr. President" – 4:33
2. "U + Ur Hand" [Live From Wembley Arena] – 4:39
3. "Dear Mr. President" [Video] – 5:00
4. "Live From Wembley Trailer" [Video] – 1:00

Remixes

1. Offer Nissim Club Mix
2. Offer Nissim Radio Edit

Charts

Chart (2006–09) Peak position Australia (ARIA)[9] 5 Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40)[10] 1 Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)[11] 1 Belgium (Ultratip Wallonia)[12] 3 Canadian Hot 100[13] 55 Czech Republic (Rádio Top 100)[14] 2 German Singles Chart[15] 3 German Airplay Chart 1 Netherlands (Single Top 100)[16] 43 New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)[17] 11 Slovakian IFPI Chart 48 Sweden (Sverigetopplistan)[18] 18 Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)[19] 3 UK Singles Chart 34

Year-end charts Chart (2007) Rank Australian Singles Chart[20] 41 Austrian Singles Chart[21] 3 Belgian Singles Chart (Flanders)[22] 16 German Singles Chart[23] 13 Swiss Singles Chart[24] 8

Certifications

Region	Certification	Certified units/Sales
Australia (ARIA)[25]	Gold	35,000^^
Austria (IFPI Austria)[26]	Platinum	30,000^*
Germany (BVMI)[27]	Platinum	300,000^^
Summaries
^^shipments figures based on certification alone

Personnel

• Vocals: Pink and Indigo Girls
• Backing vocals: Emily Saliers and Amy Ray
• Mixed by: Al Clay
• Pro Tools: Christopher Rojas
• Guitar: Emily Saliers
• Production coordinator: Lana Israel

See also

• List of anti-war songs

References

1. Linda Perry - Profile of pop music producer and songwriter Linda Perry
2. Robert Christgau: CG: pink
3. I'm Not Dead | EW.com
4. Think of Pink as a spectrum - latimes
5. Critic's Choice - New CD's - NYTimes.com
6. Pink: I'm Not Dead | PopMatters
7. I'm Not Dead - Rolling Stone
8. Pink I’m Not Dead | Album Review | Slant Magazine
9. "Australian-charts.com – P!nk – Dear Mr. President". ARIA Top 50 Singles. Retrieved 20 June 2011.
10. "Austriancharts.at – P!nk – Dear Mr. President" (in German). Ö3 Austria Top 40. Retrieved 20 June 2011.
11. "Ultratop.be – P!nk – Dear Mr. President" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50. Retrieved 20 June 2011.
12. "Ultratop.be – P!nk – Dear Mr. President" (in French). Ultratip. Retrieved 20 June 2011.
13. "Canadian Hot 100 – Dear Mr. President". Billboard. Nielson Business Media, Inc. 2007-11-24. Archived from the original on 2008-02-02. Retrieved 2007-12-15.
14. "ČNS IFPI" (in Czech). Hitparáda – Radio Top 100 Oficiální. IFPI Czech Republic. Note: insert 200740 into search.
15. Germany Singles Chart
16. "Dutchcharts.nl – P!nk – Dear Mr. President" (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Retrieved 20 June 2011.
17. "Charts.org.nz – P!nk – Dear Mr. President". Top 40 Singles. Retrieved 20 June 2011.
18. "Swedishcharts.com – P!nk – Dear Mr. President". Singles Top 100. Retrieved 20 June 2011.
19. "Swisscharts.com – P!nk – Dear Mr. President". Swiss Singles Chart. Retrieved 20 June 2011.
20. ARIA Top 100 Singles 2007
21. Jahreshitparade 2007 - austriancharts.at
22. ultratop.be - ULTRATOP BELGIAN CHARTS
23. "Top 100 Single-Jahrescharts". GfK Entertainment (in German). offiziellecharts.de. Retrieved 16 December 2015.
24. Swiss Year-End Charts 2007 - swisscharts.com
25. "ARIA Charts – Accreditations – 2007 Singles". Australian Recording Industry Association. Retrieved September 14, 2011.
26. "Austrian single certifications – P!nk – Dear Mr President" (in German). IFPI Austria. Retrieved September 14, 2011. Enter P!nk in the field Interpret. Enter Dear Mr President in the field Titel. Select single in the field Format. Click Suchen
27. "Gold-/Platin-Datenbank (Pink; 'Dear Mr. President')" (in German). Bundesverband Musikindustrie. Retrieved July 13, 2012.