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.
