Richie Havens on Barack Obama, from a Cleveland Plain Dealer 2008 article:
Q: We’re speaking on the same day that Barack Obama will become the first black man to be nominated for president by a major party.
A: Amazing, isn’t it?
But I’ve been totally sort of accepting of the fact that that might’ve happened, let’s say, in 1964. [laughs] You know?
It’s been a long time coming.
I’ll walk through a place and see three or four kids and they’re standing there and they’re actually selling Obama shirts.
I say, “Who’s that?” — fooling around with the kids.
“That’s Obama!”
“Yeah? What’s happening with him?”
“He’s gonna be president!”
This is the biggest change America will ever have.
“Freedom”
“All Along the Watchtower”
“Fire and Rain”
The world has lost another poet.
This is your night owl open thread.
The Obama Diary 