Obama on Dylan

President Obama was interviewed by Rolling Stone for the October 15 issue (as a side note, it's kind of awesome that Jann Wenner is still out running around, and even if some people say he's a sell-out, the mag still has some hard-hitting political journalism that I think would even make Hunter S. Thompson proud). I'll need to take another gander before I sharpen my pencil about the whole interview, but at first glance, I can't help but feel good. We're in extraordinarily tough times, and people are angry and impatient. But the President has done an incredibly good job--as he says, he's crossed off seventy percent of his campaign promise list (anyone know if that's actually true, by the way?). And I'm really glad to see him trumpeting that, finally.

Of course, the part I most want to share is about Obama meeting the Zimmer-man himself. Check it out:

Here's what I love about Dylan: He was exactly as you'd
expect he would be. He wouldn't come to the rehearsal;
usually, all these guys are practicing before the set in the
evening. He didn't want to take a picture with me; usually all
the talent is dying to take a picture with me and Michelle
before the show, but he didn't show up to that. He came in
and played "The Times They Are A-Changin'." A beautiful
rendition. The guy is so steeped in this stuff that he can just
come up with some new arrangement, and the song sounds
completely different. Finishes the song, steps off the stage —
I'm sitting right in the front row — comes up, shakes my
hand, sort of tips his head, gives me just a little grin, and then
leaves. And that was it — then he left. That was our only
interaction with him. And I thought: That's how you want
Bob Dylan, right? You don't want him to be all cheesin' and
grinnin' with you. You want him to be a little skeptical about
the whole enterprise. So that was a real treat.

How can you not love both of them for that? And just the idea of Dylan singing that song in the White House makes me a little choked up inside.

Go read the whole article, especially the end, when Obama returns after being ushered off by his aides and says it's time for us to all get off our butts and get energized. As someone who's been able to quite easily sit on the sidelines because there's been a whole ocean (and sometimes an Equator) between her and the happenings in her country, it made me want to speak out. Since there really isn't a whole lot I can do from this side, apart from writing, please, regardless of your political affiliation, get out and vote!


And if you vote Democrat, that'd be kinda cool.