Johnny Cash, Prophet

Rosanne Cash tells the story of her time playing the Clinton Inauguration, and includes this bit about her father:

My dad and I loved politics and we loved talking about world affairs. A presidential election was thrilling to both of us. In the last few years of his life he was obsessed with CNN and turned it on at 4:00 in the morning, as soon as he woke. He said he woke up wanting to know what had happened in the world while he was asleep.

We had a discussion about world leaders not long before his death in 2003, and I decried the lack of women in high office. “A black man will be president first, before a woman,” Dad said authoritatively. “People in this country are more prejudiced toward women than they are toward black men.” He paused. “But you’ll see both in your lifetime,” he said quietly.

Smart man. I always thought it would be a woman would be first - a Republican woman, specifically. I'm glad I was wrong about the Republican part, kindof ambivalent about the other part - either one would've been fine, in the abstract.

Sadly, I can't think of late-era Johnny Cash anymore without thinking about Sad Kermit's version of Johnny Cash's cover of NiN's "Hurt" (probably NSFW):

2 thoughts on “Johnny Cash, Prophet”

  1. Cris

    I always thought it would a woman would be first – a Republican woman, specifically.

    Funny, I always said the same thing: the first woman president will be a conservative. I was thinking along the lines of Thatcher’s example.

    And I said the same thing about a Black president — which is why Colin Powell seemed like such a prime choice in ’92. (Not only a Republican, but a retired general — he’s like Ike, only from Harlem!)

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