Posted on 06/05/2008 6:36:08 PM PDT by Ganymede
Bob Dylan says Barack Obama is 'changin' America
His 1964 track 'The Times They are a-Changin' became the anthem for his generation, symbolising the era-defining social struggle against the establishment.
Now Bob Dylan - who could justifiably claim to be the architect of Barack Obama's 'change' catchphrase - has backed the Illinois senator to do for modern America what the generation before did in the 1960s.
In an exclusive interview with The Times, published in T2 today, Dylan gives a ringing endorsement to Mr Obama, the first ever black presidential candidate, claiming he is "redefining the nature of politics from the ground up".
Dylan, 67, made the comments when being interviewed in Denmark, where he stopped over in a hotel during a tour of Scandinavia.
Asked about his views on American politics, he said: "Well, you know right now America is in a state of upheaval. Poverty is demoralising. You can't expect people to have the virtue of purity when they are poor.
"But we've got this guy out there now who is redefining the nature of politics from the ground up...Barack Obama.
"He's redefining what a politician is, so we'll have to see how things play out. Am I hopeful? Yes, I'm hopeful that things might change. Some things are going to have to."
He added: “You should always take the best from the past, leave the worst back there and go forward into the future."
Dylan's endorsement contains much symbolic significance. The legendary singer-songwriter, who has an art exhibition opening in London next week, became a focal point for young people worldwide when he released the album 'The times they are a-changin'," including the famous song of that name, in 1964.
The track, which he wrote as the social liberation of the '60s astonished politicians and parents, included lines urging people to accept and embrace what was happening around them.
Memorable lines included: "Come senators, congressmen, please heed the call. Don't stand in the doorway, don't block up the hall," and: "Come mothers and fathers throughout the land, and don't criticise what you can't understand. Your sons and your daughters are beyond your command. Your old road is rapidly agin'."
The maestro must be going senile.
He has never, EVER, endorsed a political candidate before in his life.
That’s how his songs stay so timeless. With the exception of his early folkies, he never pinned them to anything or anyone specific. It was up to the listener to fill in the blanks for themselves.
You don’t need a Bill Ayers to know which way his wind blows! WAKE UP, Bob!
Bob Dylan is a “Have” compared to most US citizens. Is he endorsing the Alinsky goal that the “Have Nots” should be able to take from the “Haves” like BO has been community agitating? Can I come take a look so I know where the “good stuff’ is located before election results are in?
"What is this sh*t?"
Sad, indeed.
I don’t believe in Zimmerman.
Rock and roll ping.
I think Bob may have had one too many chili peppers in the blistering sun.
who give a damn what he says....this is just what you’d expect from a burnt out has been. Great songs and all that, but please....
Can you imagine what sort of a job Kelly Pavlik would do on the “hurricane”??
Huh?
This is an endorsement?
Pretty weak one IMHO.
wonder if old dylan knows about obama’s anti israel beliefs? dylan is after all jewish.
Bobby Zimmerman is also a gun enthusiast. His politics have always been all over the place.
this doesn’t seem to be a ringing endorsement. all he is saying that nobama is changing poltics as we know it. That’s like saying the sun’s yellow.
actually the sun’s not yellow, it’s chicken.
Wow. I thought he was known for keeping his mouth shut with regard to politics. What happened to that?
He has written some pretty good little ditties.
But, he still can’t sing.
Shut up and just write little ditties.
Conwrvativew who do vote mor McCain are gonna get some of that change, whether they like it or not!
Great post. I’d add that, as Thomas Sowell points out, the rate of progress for blacks was higher before the Great Society programs of the sixties.
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