Here is a press release, released by the Ron Paul 2008 Presidential Campaign Committee:

January 29, 2008 1:09 pm EST
Legendary Singer-Songwriter Arlo Guthrie Endorses Ron Paul for President
“Dr. Paul is the only candidate… who would have signed the Constitution”

ARLINGTON, VIRGINIA – Republican presidential candidate and Texas Congressman Ron Paul’s campaign has been endorsed by legendary folk singer-songwriter Arlo Guthrie.
Guthrie, known for a series of hits including “Alice’s Restaurant,” issued the following endorsement of Dr. Paul:
“I love this guy. Dr. Paul is the only candidate I know of who would have signed the Constitution of The United States had he been there. I’m with him, because he seems to be the only candidate who actually believes it has as much relevance today as it did a couple of hundred years ago. I look forward to the day when we can work out the differences we have with the same revolutionary vision and enthusiasm that is our American legacy.”

The above comment was taken from a post from the folksinger in a forum on Arlo Guthrie’s website – http://www.arlo.net/ . I would urge everyone to check out the site and read Arlo’s comments in context with the discussion. Arlo made some very good points and a strong case why a candidacy like Ron Paul’s is so important to our poltical process, especially at this point in history.

The one aspect that I question is, was this truly an “endorsement”? Read the forum and decide. It is an intelligent discussion and Arlo and others bring up good points to consider before voting for any candidate. I’m curious as to whether Arlo gave approval to be an official “endorser” or whether an eagle-eyed Ron Paul staffer caught the comment and ran with it.

In my estimation, Arlo was not telling others how to vote – which endorsements seem to do, but rather telling us what he likes about Ron Paul and what is making up his thought process. The individual choice is naturally ours to make, and Arlo’s comments seem to respect that in my opinion.

Since the 1940’s, folk music has danced with politics and more importantly social change. Folk music was an important tool for the Henry Wallace third party campaign in 1948, and it will be interesting what role it might play this year. Regardless, it is good to see intelligent discussion coming from artists like Arlo.