Is Bob Dylan Drinking the Kool-Aid?
The music legend is the latest celebrity to get tangled up in Campaign 2008 — and it's not surprising which candidate he's praising.
When it comes to political endorsements, you don’t need a weathervane to know which way the wind blows.
It was no surprise that Hollywood experienced a collective electoral orgasm with the candidacy of Barack Obama, as the Illinois senator became the next “It” item in league with an Hermes Birkin bag or Leo’s trademark Prius — save for, of course, the Jack Nicholson montage endorsement for Hillary Clinton.
Celebrity train wrecks are just expected to throw themselves into the political moment du jour without much cause for policy analysis, much like how they show up at the soup kitchen to sling slop for the cameras on holidays without much regard to the issues faced by the homeless on the other days of the year. It’s not so much the substance that matters as much as the photo op, and not so much the platform as the soapbox.
And as we’re finally past primary season, artists will try to morph into pundits much like Jimmy Carter trying to morph into a statesman. But I must admit that I was as blue as a rainy day woman when I saw that Bob Dylan was now tangled up in Campaign 2008.
I grew up listening to my parents’ hippie music, developing a deep appreciation for The Doors, Simon and Garfunkel, the Beatles, etc. But I’m a huge Bob Dylan fan. Last summer I logged on to Ticketmaster every hour in the days before the sold-out Dylan show at the Orange County Fair, and snagged one ticket released at the last minute for nearly a hundred bucks. I’d never spent that much for any ticket. I’ve even received reader mail from conservatives criticizing me for being a fan of Dylan’s music — as if I should be the shallow center-right equivalent of the late Kevyn Aucoin, a liberal makeup artist who refused to work on the faces of Republican women.
The media eagerly latched onto Dylan’s interview published Saturday in the Times of London in which he chats mostly about his art, but is asked by the reporter how he views the presidential election:
“Well, you know right now America is in a state of upheaval,” Dylan responds. “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.
“You should always take the best from the past, leave the worst back there and go forward into the future.”
Good Lord. I expected the next paragraph to launch into a gravelly-voiced sing-along: “Come gather ’round people, wherever you roam…”
But the Times — and other outlets — termed this as an “endorsement.” Was that actually correct? Obviously there’s some Kool-Aid drinking going on there — the poor can’t be virtuous? — and overly fawning praise of Obama. Followed by the noncommittal “we’ll have to see how things play out” and a general expression of hoping things change. Which, in the world of St. Barack canonization, translates in many media circles to be as good as if Bob slung his guitar over his back and precinct walked with Obama ‘08 stickers. And Dylan was led into the question by a reporter who was otherwise interviewing the singer about his new art exhibit, a question asked after Dylan had stood to usher the reporter out at what was supposed to be the interview’s end.
It’s not that musicians jumping wholeheartedly into causes is a bad thing. Who can disrespect Bono for his work to help the world’s poor, doing more than simply chiding the rich by joining forces with the likes of Bill and Melinda Gates to work toward concrete goals? Or those who are politically vocal yet put their money where their chords are, like anti-establishment Henry Rollins entertaining the troops since the start of the Iraq war?
But let’s hope voters aren’t going to cast their ballots based on the advice of the Top 40. It annoys me that the Rock the Vote, Russell Simmons’ Turn Up the Vote, or Diddy’s Vote or Die campaigns are not so much geared toward getting young people to the polls (the stated goal) as they are about getting young people to vote according to “their” issues (i.e. pick “progressive” candidates).
Yet the Bob & Barack ballad essentially heralds the beginning of a dreaded period in the showbiz duncedom: the election year. And in this circus, Bob Dylan — whether wielding an endorsement or a fluffy ’60s affirmation — rates comparatively low on the freak scale. Consider the latest threat by Susan Sarandon to flee the country if Obama doesn’t win, a celebrity tradition that is doubly bizarre because it assumes that fear of their emigration would actually influence a voter. Then consider that this act has proven to be purely fiction, otherwise Sarandon and hubby Tim Robbins would have vacated America after Bush won his first term, Eddie Vedder would have fled across the border yearning for a “Better Man” in the White House, and Alec Baldwin would have potentially (fortunately) been out of cell phone range from his daughter.
Perhaps in this time of unquestioning Obama adulation and feel-good celeb endorsements drowning out hard policy talk, it’s a good time to remember that old verse from Mr. Dylan himself:
“Come writers and critics
Who prophesize with your pen
And keep your eyes wide
The chance won’t come again
And don’t speak too soon
For the wheel’s still in spin…”
Bridget Johnson is the online opinion editor, an opinion writer, and a blogger at the Rocky Mountain News.
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47 Comments
1. Jim from Pittsburgh:As a music lover I am constantly limited in my conversation whenever I see live music or ge together with friends of similar musical tastes due to my political views. I think the same sweeping view of a world unadulterated by the shallowness of greed and corruption that allows these artists and balladeers to write such beautiful artistry severely limits their grounding in reality.
The only real problem with this is the growing inability of the young voter to separate art from artist from worldview from perspective. The art community functions in a way that benefits from the same system it rails against. Its this conflict that creates a creative dynamic.
I’ve seen the bias and the damage done.
Jun 9, 2008 - 3:54 am 2. David Thomson:“But we’ve got this guy out there now who is redefining the nature of politics from the ground up … Barack Obama.”
Bobby Dylan is eerily similar to Cole Porter who once sang:
“You’re the top!
You’re the Great Houdini!
You’re the top!
You are Mussolini!”
Everyone should make a point to read Jonah Goldberg’s, Liberal Fascism: The Secret History of the American Left, From Mussolini to the Politics of Meaning. This may be the most important book during this election cycle.
Jun 9, 2008 - 4:39 am 3. Roy Lofquist:When Dylan arrived on the American scene he was coopted by the New York folk community which was at that time quite far left. It would still be today if it were still around.
As a kid from Minnesota he was not politically astute. By the release of his third album he had left that scene. They excoriated him as a traitor to the cause.
He has stated many times over his career that he has no political causes. He is an observer of the scene. If you read his lyrics you find an overall cynicism about the foibles of the human race. This is much more like the conservatism of Burke and Russell Kirk than the philosophy of the left.
Jun 9, 2008 - 6:41 am 4. Bill in New York:yeah, sorry… that tired old hippy has made some great tunes, but he’s lost in the wilderness (hey, it can happen to anyone without a moral compass)… even celebrities who are so much smarter than we are, who want to make the rules we all must follow (and from which they are exempt)… kinda like algore and his carbon footprint, or washington politicians and their healthcare plan, right?
Jun 9, 2008 - 7:20 am 5. Kim Luisi:I have to agree with Roy here. And I would like to add that this certainly does not seem like the ringing endorsement the MSM would have us believe. Heck, I would say EXACTLY the same things about Obama and I am not even voting for him.
Jun 9, 2008 - 8:35 am 6. Peter Fonda comments on folk legend Bob Dylan’s tepid “endorsement” of Barack Obama:[...] couple of Quechan Indians strung out on buttons and really, really missing Toni Basil…”* Posted by Jeff G. @ 10:42 am | Trackback SHARETHIS.addEntry({ title: “Peter Fonda comments on [...]
Jun 9, 2008 - 9:42 am 7. Dave II:That Bob Dylan admires Obama for “redefining the nature of politics from the ground up …” is not at all surprising…
Bob is a rebel by nature, and he “redefined” music during his hey-day so it’s only natural…
Fact is, that’s why ANY “rebel” would identify with Obama…he’s their man, former-Weatherman bombers included!
Why do you think we see Che Gueverra’s face on flags in Obama campaign offices? He’s a rebel, man!
It’s a revolution! Viva la 60’s! The last gasp of the baby boomers before they hit retirement and the ol’ folks home!
God, my generation sure is stupid!
Jun 9, 2008 - 9:50 am 8. Kerry:Huh. I read the bit at end of that Times article as an endorsement of neither. Possibly, or if anything, it seems to hold tacit words of caution.
Jun 9, 2008 - 9:54 am 9. John Moore:I smell the sixties again, sigh.
The leftiest of that time are the rich, elite Obama supporters of today. They long for that great feeling of righteousness of that decade, felt by every anti-war supporter, hippie and, rebel of every sort. They want it back.
The ignorant kids of today have been educated by the sixties draft dodgers who became college professors, and their intellectual descendents, the public school teachers and the media. They have been instilled with the idea that the “establishment” (really, the right) is wrong. They have the natural idealism of youth and its attendant disconnect from reality.
Bob Dylan is another 60′ers who probably longs for the times, and sees it in the Obama “movement.”
Jun 9, 2008 - 10:16 am 10. George Clarke:No story here. Dog bites Man.
Now if Dylan had endorsed McCaine? Now that would have been a story. It would have had to be buried in the legal notices section of the Palookaville Times-Picayune. But it would have been a story.
Jun 9, 2008 - 10:18 am 11. BMoon:The inimitable Dylan
should review some of his previous words from times past….
A self-ordained professor’s tongue
Too serious to fool
Spouted out that liberty
Is just equality in school
“Equality,” I spoke the word
As if a wedding vow.
Ah, but I was so much older then,
I’m younger than that now.
In a soldier’s stance, I aimed my hand
At the mongrel dogs who teach
Fearing not that I’d become my enemy
In the instant that I preach
My pathway led by confusion boats
Mutiny from stern to bow.
Ah, but I was so much older then,
I’m younger than that now.
(from My Back Pages)
Bob was always tuned into the Judeo-Christian Weltanshcuuang and, as previously stated by Lofquist. It seems he is suddenly gettig older and more senile reather than “younger than that now.”
Jun 9, 2008 - 11:01 am 12. Whitehall:Did a guest DJ on a local non-commercial FM station last week. The reggae DJ before me closed with the “Barack Obama Song” from Kenya. I opened with “Don’t Get Fooled Again” by the Who.
Just a lucky juxiposition but there is a message there.
Jun 9, 2008 - 11:12 am 13. Doc99:All Mr. Zimmerman was doing was observing the obvious shift in American politics. He was there for the 1963 March on Washington. Now a Black Man is running for President. Dylan’s not endorsing Obama, just a change in the landscape.
Jun 9, 2008 - 11:18 am 14. David P:bobby zimmerman doesn’t see the worst of the past repeating itself right before his eyes because he’s blinded by hope
Jun 9, 2008 - 1:00 pm 15. john:I was around in the sixties and I remember the drugs, sex, rock and roll. Now we have dropouts, aids, drug addicts. We lost people like Janice and Hendricks. Civil rights came out of that era so did woman’s rights and those are two good things but other then that they (the artists) where wrong more than they where right.
Jun 9, 2008 - 1:38 pm 16. Bill in New York:The pinko commie symp hippies never really went away, they infiltrated college faculties and today they ARE the establishment.
Jun 9, 2008 - 2:01 pm 17. andres loco:Bobby D,
Hell Yeah. Damn Jimmy Carter called you a friend and helped the nation heal, till Ray Gun and his goons set up the hostage transfer as the gipper was sworn in. Wont get fooled again, and all that stuff, but how sad for so many to enjoy your music, yet not enjoy the most compelling candidacy since JFK. Here we have a chance to confront the racism central to most of American History since 1607.
Jun 9, 2008 - 2:03 pm 18. andres loco:um, its Hendrix, pal.
Jun 9, 2008 - 2:04 pm 19. Kim Luisi:Hi Dave II:
Jun 9, 2008 - 2:22 pm 20. Tom W.:I have to agree with you that your generation leaves a lot to be desired and is annoying in so many ways, but no, not every rebel votes for Obama. I’m living proof. Oh and all those Che flags and merchandise is less about being a rebel and more about not having a clue as to who Guevara really was. I have to hand it to Che’s family though. Recently they made a statement on how they were upset his image was being used to further capitalism. ‘Bout time they showed some cojones and finally showed the libs how ignorant they really are.
Isn’t it shocking that all Obama had to do was say “Hope and change! Yes we can!” and hundreds of millions of people all over the globe instantly fell in love?
It reminds me of an old “WKRP in Cincinnati” sketch I saw, in which Howard Hesseman is having a nightmare. He’s watching his coworker Tim Reid doing a stand-up routine, and Reid’s act consists only of saying things like “Hey, how about those airports? Man!” and the audience roars with laughter and applauds thunderously.
Hesseman is screaming “He’s not funny! He’s not even telling jokes!” but nobody listens.
Thank God people are starting to see through Barack “How About Those Airports” Obama.
Jun 9, 2008 - 2:50 pm 21. Denim:I love Bob for his music and talent. This “interview” is more of an embarassement to me than anything else. And I have read moronic comments like, if Bob says Obama is all that it must be true. My theory is that people, as in the movie, “Invasion of the Body Snatchers” have had their bodies transformed to follow Obama no matter what. Come on, what else can it be? The man has been affiliated with everything that is considered wrong, like communism, racism, terrorism, etc., etc., and the list goes on—-yet he is a hero. So, how do you explain it?
Jun 9, 2008 - 4:40 pm 22. rcd33b:Bob is now a pod as are many, look into your neighbor’s eyes and see if you can tell.
I’ve basically been pretty much tired of the hollywood/entertainment “elite” (whatever that means) began supporting the dumbing down liberalization of America in the 60’s. But you’re right, it is the same old, same old painful ad nauseum parade of people who play act for a living supporting a cause which they know will not affec their lives one whit. Bobby, you never could sing (in my opinion) and you can please, please leave your politics out of it. Give me one tired, hot, dirty, underpaid USMC grunt over 50 overpaid, over-rated wannabe’s (as in play acting instead of working for a living) anyday. The grunt has earned his opinion. Susan Sarandon (please go to Canada) and Barbara Streisand (please go to England) please donate a tenth of your ill-gotten gains to the troops instead of a politico who holds them in disdain. Thank you and HOLLYWOOD HAS LEFT THE BUILDING (I wish).
Jun 9, 2008 - 4:41 pm 23. Roy Lofquist:I went to a Jimi Hendrix concert. He died. I went to a Janice Joplin concert. She died. I don’t go to concerts anymore.
Jun 9, 2008 - 8:00 pm 24. i b squidly:Good bye’s too good a word guy
Jun 9, 2008 - 10:06 pm 25. john:so I’ll just say fair thee well.
Alice Cooper said, to paraphrase, “Why would you listen to us? We sleep till the afternoon and don’t have real jobs”
>andres loco:
um, its Hendrix, pal.
Your right I should proof read this stuff before I send it out. The comment still stands though; the hippies of my generation (me included) got most of it wrong.
Jun 10, 2008 - 6:34 am 26. Kim Luisi:Reading some of these comments on here I can now see why some on the left believe that conservatives do not think and when we do think we are given to ideological thinking rather than true critical thinking. I believe those who are ready to write-off Bob because he said some positive things about Obama need to take a breather. I am enclosing a link to an article that gives Obama a far more glowing review than anything Dylan has said, and YET the author is NOT supporting him.
http://www.godspy.com/magazine/why-i-love-obama/
Jun 10, 2008 - 7:29 am 27. CHRIS:It is amazing to me that the Democrats, and their media and celebrity enablers, along with the young people supporting Obama are considering their potential actions in voting this man in. His associations, the questionable real estate deals, his preacher, the constant whining, the complaining, the “woe is me” factor…there’s plenty of reason to doubt. Young people want to believe. I was young once. I supported Dukakis. I never actually voted because I didn’t get the absentee ballot, since I was out of my home state of Ohio at the time. But it’s a different world 20 years later. And Barack and many Democrats still see the world through rose-colored glasses. A community organizer in Chicago does not make one qualified for president. A short stint in the Illinois Senate does not as well. And neither does a incomplete stay in the US Senate. The word terrorism in not his vocabulary.
Just once I’d like to a see a Democrat actually ackowledge that there is evil in the world. But considering Senator Obama sat in the pews of his church and heard the preacher curse the name of his own country, considering that his wife ONLY now feels proud of being an American but never before…I wonder whether the Senator actually could define the word.
In this day and age, America can’t afford to have leadership that is in training on the job, and selecting Senator Obama would be just that. Especially in the post 9/11 world.
Jun 10, 2008 - 8:32 am 28. Xanthippe:CHRIS said: Just once I’d like to a see a Democrat actually acknowledge that there is evil in the world.
Democrats do that all the time – when referring to Republicans.
Jun 10, 2008 - 8:57 am 29. Gary Ogletree:At this point I think a lot of people haven’t paid that much attention and, like Dylan, hope Obama is who he says he is. Once they discover he is a fraud, as many Hillary supporters have, that hope may turn to anger at being “”bamboozled and hoodwinked. I also suspect the media infatuation will begin to cool a bit as the less dim witted ones get hip to the shell game. They might even slip in a few unwelcome questions (I mean “distractions”). That’s the change I’m hoping for.
Jun 10, 2008 - 9:35 am 30. 4infidels:Even if Dylan’s comments could be characterized as an endorsement of Obama, I think too many people are jumping to the conclusion that Dylan is a typical leftist. From listening to his music, I think it is hard to know where he stands politically. His interview answers are frequently intended to evade or deceive rather than enlighten and clarify.
There certainly have been many events during Dylan’s career that were discomforting to the left. Some that come to mind: he was considered a traitor by the folk crowd for going electric; he angered many on the left in the 60s by refusing to criticize the Vietnam War; he converted to Christianity and made three passionately Christian albums that were unfairly criticized by left-leaning music reviewers; he wrote an unequivocal defense of Israel in the early 1980s as Israel was becoming a favorite target for the fashionable left; he wrote a song that was critical of labor unions; he has been called sexist for his portrayal of women in some of his songs (could be metaphors for something else?); and most of his lyrics are more likely to reference Biblical imagery and scripture than politics or current events.
One area of politics that Dylan has been quite vocal about is the treatment of African-Americans. As someone passionate about racial equality, perhaps Dylan sees Obama as a symbolic of the changes America has made with regard to race. Who knows? But I don’t think his endorsement is important. And I’m not even sure it really is an endorsement.
Jun 10, 2008 - 11:28 pm 31. Fred Mecklenburg:To the folks on here criticizing Dylan: let’s get real. 1) When Dylan says Obama is “redefining what a politician is,” there’s a lot of truth to it. He’s really the first candidate of the viral internet era, much more than Howard Dean was, or Ralph Nader, or Ron Paul is. So that’s just a statement of fact. You may like it or not but it’s true.
2) If your attitude toward a great artist is defined and delimited by your attitude to his/her politics, then how are you different from the old Stalinists that Dylan had to reject way back when?
3) One of the great things about Dylan is the way he refused to become a spokesman for the old or new left, or pretty much anyone else (except Jesus) when he was expected to do so, and when he really could have had the kind of political influence that most celebrity blowhards can only dream about. Now if he says that he liked the tilt of Barry Goldwater’s cowboy hat, or that Barack Obama has points of interest and “we’ll have to see how things play out,” why read more into it?
Jun 11, 2008 - 1:58 am 32. JohnnyRussia:Bridget, if you are going to quote Dylan’s lyrics, get ‘em right. It’s not a weather “VANE”, it’s a weather “MAN”.
I guess your ideology got in the way, huh?
Jun 11, 2008 - 7:24 am 33. David:Bob is not drinking the Kool-Aid at all. Can’t people think for themselves today in this Orwellian society? The thought that FEAR be replaced with HOPE scares many of the conservatives all over the world. The cowboy antics of the current president have set the USA apart from the rest of the world. Living in that vacuum of fear the last 7 years has been one of the worst parts of my existence. Seeing war tear into the fabric of towns I live near, hearing about soldiers wounded for the Bush cause, seeing gas prices and our economic collapse are nothing that this Anglo-Saxon male is proud to witness. The ones who drink the Kool-Aid are hiding in their Presidential bubbles. Dick Cheney, Bush, Rumsfeld, Colin Powell all had parts in this current Iraqi debacle. Everyone from the last sentence has propagated fear and other worldly LIES for the sake of politics and big oil monies. They are sick human beings! Yet, whenever a fresh faced African American politician comes to the scene we all should be scared to death because of him encouraging HOPE into the bitter abyss of FEAR. OH NO THAT CANNOT HAPPEN! Not in today’s point and click circle jerk society! I will take Barack Obama’s HOPE and CHANGE any day over the Geritol McCain. I don’t need a musician to tell me how to vote, but I am glad Bob Dylan feels the need to speak out about the goodness and qualities the Barack Obama possesses.
Jun 11, 2008 - 7:56 am 34. drp:Obama and Dylan. One saved my soul, the other will save our country. Amen!
Jun 11, 2008 - 8:22 am 35. Stan INDIANAPOLIS:All Barack Obama has to be is a step away from the path of Bush McCain. He doesn’t have to usher in the Age of Aquarius, he just has to start a process of correcting the mistakes of the past 8 years. You vote for McCain only if you believe that 8 years of this nonsense hasn’t been enough.
Jun 11, 2008 - 9:11 am 36. mike:One thing that might have influenced Dylan is that he was once married to a black woman, and has a daughter who is half-black, half-white, just like Obama.
Jun 11, 2008 - 9:21 am 37. Rubicon:Change, the landscape if changing…. etc.
But in the end, when we look at the substance of planned changes, is it really what we want or more importantly, need?
And, if its just to make us “feel good,” while cutting off our own noses, have we not just replaced one political philosophy with another, yet evaded looking at substance?
Jun 11, 2008 - 10:03 am 38. j:Do you people never learn? Do NOT take anything Bob Dylan says in an interview for face value. I’m a huge fan, I’ve read many many interviews over the years. They are very entertaining, but I wouldn’t take them seriously. Ever. Find his interview with Santana on youtube. He’s asked about gun control and says that kids need more guns. They should be able to get them “at the toy store” for example. Hilarious!
Jun 11, 2008 - 11:55 am 39. David is a Drone:David,
So you’re all for a new Holocaust? Obama seems to support that. It’s not so much FEAR (per your capitalization) as it is HATE (which is what the Obama website is full of, especially if you’re a Joooooo).
I guess you didn’t read any of the recent reports showing that the “Bush Lied” meme you ignorant dolts push around is finally dead. But then again, you don’t read anything you don’t agree with. Out of sight, out of mind.
It’s funny to see you morons who hate religious folk suddenly have a religious experience with your new drug-taking, political hack Messiah. Will a half-black President help to redeem you from your white liberal sin of guilt? I guess he freed you from the sin of sexism, which you indulged in heartily (I can understand, you left wing “men” are emasculated, and you’re angry – clamping down on Hillary was the only way you could get your little passive-agressive fit out.) Don’t believe me that you think he’s the Messiah? Even Jesse “Love Child” Jackson thinks so – “I cried all night. I’m going to be crying for the next four years,” he said. “What Barack Obama has accomplished is the single most extraordinary event that has occurred in the 232 years of the nation’s political history. … The event itself is so extraordinary that another chapter could be added to the Bible to chronicle its significance.” Talk about hypocrisy and blasphemy all in one sentence. Where did the good Rev. “Love Child” Jackson get his degree again? I guess it’s OK that the Messiah did drugs, went to elite schools, earned butt-loads of money, and got sweet deals from convicted felons. Your Messiah sucks.
Obama’s an idiot. Get him away from the script or teleprompter and you’ll hear more “uhs” than when you try to start a flooded lawnmower. Be prepared to be disappointed as the general election focuses more on the moron you have chosen. Notice I did not say elected. He still didn’t win the popular vote. But you only complain about stuff like that if it relates to a Republican, right?
Whew, that was fun! Come back soon, David and drp (drip). Very apropos.
Jun 11, 2008 - 1:07 pm 40. Pickin' on David and Stan:Hey David – would you please explain Obama’s senior moment shown here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZxBX8sz3tO8
Is he now a tool of the Republican establishment and damaging his own campaign? Is his stupidity a ploy to invoke FEAR (again, your spelling) at getting a dumber President than Jimmy Carter??!
I guess Stan from Indianapolis wants a new depth of nonsense. He’ll get it with Obama. With Bush we got Al Qaeda on the run, and stronger economic numbers over the two terms than with Bill and Hill. That includes being attacked (thanks Bill for sleeping on your watch) and engaging terrorists in two major fronts and many others around the world. I am not interested in the kind of Change (style guides now indicate that Change must have a capital C when referred to in the same sentence as Obama) Stan is interested in. Apparently his fine Union job is being eliminated after years of collecting outrageous paychecks for mediocre work. Should have gotten in on the free market and set yourself apart. But I digress…
Jun 11, 2008 - 2:15 pm 41. David:My Messiah? I never said Barack Obama was my Messiah. Give me a freakin break. Let’s talk about that right-wing you degenerates from the GOP preach. Yes, the same Republican Party that torched McCain in 2000 with the ‘illegitimate black child’ smear campaign during the South Carolina primary. It is sickening that the Bush goons stooped that low! But you know what, I won’t put anything past the Republican lying weasel machine.
But HELL YEAH, they can lie through their teeth and get away with it…Rummy, Bush, McBush, Powell, Tenet and the list goes on and on. Richard Nixon is turning in his PARDONED grave!
I will take Obama and his supporters all the way to 1600 Penn. Ave. You know why? Because their rallies aren’t staged. The feel you get from an Obama rally is much an inspirational high! McCain’s rallies on the other hand make you feel like taking a nap. With their Geritol and Metamucil wrinkled, rest home bodies trying to show HOPE, as they gasp for air through their ventilators….
And if musical tastes do in fact influence people voting, know this Bob Dylan fans:
http://www.swamppolitics.com/news/politics/blog/2008/06/john_mccain_abba_fan.html
‘Take A Chance On Me’ by ABBA has been played at many McCain functions. I am guessing that John got permission to use this crappy 70s song from the defunct members of this great (he says sarcastically) SWEDISH BAND!
And please use more of those Jesse Jackson references next time you post. They are almost as dated as the guy who quoted WKRP in Cincinnati. You see how out of touch these hacks from the Republican Party are people?!?!? Jesus! Well I need to go use the men’s rest room… (insert Larry Craig foot tap here)
Jun 11, 2008 - 3:13 pm 42. David:John He Is:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3gwqEneBKUs
Jun 11, 2008 - 3:18 pm 43. orter:obama reminds me of Jim Jones with all of his sheeple ready to drink deeply from the Kool-Aide. Glug, glug, glug!
Drink up kiddies! It’s good for you. Hope. Change. Drink up. You’ll see… just trust me.
Jun 11, 2008 - 3:23 pm 44. Waller:The old 60’s singers were as left as they come. But for the most part they understood the right of everyone to be heard, whether they agreed with them or not. Bob, Neil Young, and Arlo Guthrie still spout off their leftists views, but I’ve heard them also defend the right to opposing viewpoints – sometimes to criticism.
Today’s generation of celebricrats wants to stifle debate. They think opposing viewpoints are harmful. They aren’t out to win hearts and minds, they are out to crush the opposition. They are truly Communists.
Perhaps that’s why the old timers are less fanatical. They remember the Cold War and the legacy of Fascism. They know what happens when any speech is censored. The new generation of activists just want their way no matter what.
Jun 11, 2008 - 5:52 pm 45. george:orter:
“obama reminds me of Jim Jones with all of his sheeple ready to drink deeply from the Kool-Aide. Glug, glug, glug!”
Heh, that about describes it. Also very interesting article, I didn’t realize Bob Dylan was still alive.
Jun 12, 2008 - 10:32 am 46. Anonymous:you go drink some kool aid…
Jun 12, 2008 - 5:58 pm 47. Charles Lapier:It looks like a British band is looking for worse than what Dylan might do.
I’m talking about the British band Coldplay and their latest album soon to be released on the U.S. soil: “Viva La Vida.”
Someone (a music blog tiled sweethomenashville.com, actually) inquired seriously about the partnership between Coldplay and former musician and now left-leaning–to the least!–political activist Brian Eno, who happened to call for an international boycott on Israeli political and cultural institutions, and who has been recently appointed as “Youth Affairs Advisor” by Nick Clegg, British Member of Parliament for Sheffield Hallam.
What the authors of this well-documented article say (see my link) is indisputable and damning for Coldplay and Brian Eno… But somewhat concerning since this band plans to put a foot on the U.S. music market.
See…
http://sweethomenashville.com/?p=147
All this deserves to be taken as serious as Brian Eno is already struggling to make a success on the U.S. soil for Coldplay, starting by a concert in Orlando.
My best to all of you.
P.S.: It’s the first time I come here, but I comment regularly–under another name–on “Faster, please!” Michael Ledeen’s blog on PJM, since its early days.
Jun 15, 2008 - 9:24 am