WASHINGTON — It's been said smart is the new sexy in the national's capitoal, but several defense think tankers managed to invert the nerd-cool paradigm in a new way Wednesday when they spontaneously matched hit songs to their deep thoughts on the federal budget gridlock in Congress. Wonk talk suddenly met honky tonk.

Moderator and Defense News Editor Vago Muradian opened his ComDef 2015 panel by innocently asking Todd Harrison, of the Center for Security and International Studies, to name five misconceptions about the federal budget. Harrison, a dad, replied that each of his prepared points was inspired by a song on his phone's intergenerational playlist.

"Is this happening," said a reporter seated by me, over the delighted laughter of the National Press Club audience. Muradian jokingly called Harrison's list, "encouraging and disturbing at the same time."

But former Pentagon Comptroller Bob Hale, now a Booz Allen fellow; Mackenzie Eaglen, of the American Enterprise Institute; and Michael O'Hanlon gamely played along — as did an audience member from the Swedish Embassy who, with his question, invoked Swedish pop sensation Abba's Mama Mia and Money Money Money.

Here's the list, with some loose paraphrasing:

1. Mama Said Knock You Out – L.L. Cool J.
This song's opening line is, "Don't call it a comeback," and sequestration never left. The 2013 budget deal named for Rep. Paul Ryan Murray and Sen. Patty Ryan Murray only eased budget caps for two years. Congress has to appropriate at or below the level of the budget caps to avoid a sequester. — Harrison

2. Out of the Woods – Taylor Swift
From fiscal 2017 through 2021, the budget caps actually increase at a rate of 2.5 percent per year, plus 2 percent for inflation. Yet we are not out of the woods, as the mismatch between what the caps will allow and the Defense Department plans to spend has not been resolved. DoD's request this year topped budget caps by $35 billion. — Harrison

3. You Can't Always Get What You Want – The Rolling Stones
If the Defense Department, the administration or Congress cannot get what it wants in the base budget due to budget caps, all have to varying degrees included items in the emergency wartime account, known as overseas contingency operations, that were not meant to go in there. In Harrison's estimate, $25 billion to $30 billion in the OCO request is are actually enduring requirements and, hence, belong in the base budget. — Harrison

4. For the First Time in Forever – Kristen Bell
Members of Congress are said to be considering a full-year continuing resolution to fund the government, the first since 1970, possibly for the first time ever. Every year since 1970 there has been an appropriations bill, though some years very late, and twice in Hale's Pentagon tenure not until six months into the fiscal year. The longer it lasts the more disruptive it is because it funds the government at the previous level and, strictly speaking, bars new start programs. — Harrison

5. Shake It Off – Taylor Swift
Though the services are each thought to divide the DoD budget in thirds, the numbers have fluctuated since the 1950s. Today, the Navy gets 30 percent, the Army 23 percent, the Air Force about 22.5 percent and defense-wide accounts make up 19 percent. Some lawmakers argue there is budget equity, but shake it off. — Harrison

6. Big Shot – Billy Joel

When it comes to defense, all the Republican presidential candidates want to be pro-defense big shots. Sens. Ted Cruz and Rand Paul, Eaglen said, have had stark turnarounds to become pro-defense. Early in campaigns, that typically means favoring robust defense budgets. Yet, candidates are taking "granular" positions, talking about Army end-strength, numbers of tactical aircraft in the Air Force or numbers of ships in the Navy. — Eaglen

7. Last Friday Night (T.G.I.F) – Katy Perry
"Even though we lament that we've done it all before, we're about to do it again," O'Hanlon said. Historically, when the US has simplified the debate over national security to emphasize or de-emphasize an area of warfare, it has been wrong. Though the Army end-strength cuts haven't been as severe as some of the rhetoric about them, they're deep enough — and the pendulum may swing the other way. — O'Hanlon

8. Mama Mia or Money Money Money – Abba
Are the dire warnings about shrinking budgets on military readiness true? Curtailing training may keep certain individuals from ever receiving certain training, Hale said, but with money and over several years, the services can rebuild readiness. — Hale

Joe Gould was the senior Pentagon reporter for Defense News, covering the intersection of national security policy, politics and the defense industry. He had previously served as Congress reporter.

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