Vice President Dick Cheney is a big Johnny Cash fan, as revealed in this ABC News story about the VP’s iPod. No doubt that is but one of many things he has in common with the main subject of this website. After all, he, like Dylan, was born in the year 1941, and also in the Midwest (Lincoln, Nebraska). Their paths diverged somewhat in the 1960s, with Cheney studying for both bachelor’s and master’s of art degrees at the University of Wyoming, while Dylan pursued a career as a composer and performer of popular songs. Cheney married his wife Lynne in 1964; Dylan married his first wife, Sara, in ‘65. 1969 found Dylan writing and recording country songs, while Cheney entered public service, finding a job with the administration of Richard M. Nixon.

Though a further point-by-point comparison would probably reveal few places where their lives have obviously intersected in these intervening years, there is one major area, other than their taste for Johnny Cash’s music, where it seems safe to say that they are in agreement: neither is running for president in 2008.

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While we’re on the subject, this is a little snippet of Dylan’s written tribute to Johnny Cash on the occasion of his passing:

Of course, I knew of him before he ever heard of me. In ‘55 or ‘56, “I Walk the Line” played all summer on the radio, and it was different than anything else you had ever heard. The record sounded like a voice from the middle of the earth. It was so powerful and moving. It was profound, and so was the tone of it, every line; deep and rich, awesome and mysterious all at once. “I Walk the Line” had a monumental presence and a certain type of majesty that was humbling. Even a simple line like “I find it very, very easy to be true” can take your measure. We can remember that and see how far we fall short of it.

Sure looking forward to that radio show …

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