With this, we add to the series of the animated shows currently airing on Fox’s Sunday nights. This is the original opening sequence for American Dad!, another Seth MacFarlane creation. In season 1-3 there was a different topical joke used for the newspaper Stan picks up here. At some point (perhaps to correspond EXACTLY with the likelihood and then fact of Obama becoming the new president), the show became far less politically satirical and more character-oriented, which was a very wise move, as the show had accidentally developed a strong ensemble. As to a changing gag, the newspaper bit was replaced with Roger in a different costume each week, singing along. Here’s a terrible quality video of that.

Lyrically, this song is much less complex than those on MacFarlane’s other two shows. It is just the kind of thing you could imagine the characters humming along to, but doesn’t tell us too much about the characters, beyond the use of the term “American race.” Stan himself is far less cheerful on the show than he is in the opening credits, which is completely fine. It’s a good song, and fits the show well enough without actually being ABOUT the show. And it is aware that Roger is the best part of the show, which is good.