The Boss Endorses Obama

If you listen to rock music or are a fan of American pop culture, you know who I am talking to. Perhaps New Jersey's greatest talent (sorry Bon Jovi fans, it isn't even close), Bruce Springsteen came out to endorse Barack Obama over Senator Clinton. While it may be a little too late for his native New Jersey to heed the call, the state of Pennsylvania is just across the western border called the Delaware. Bruce carries powerful messages about society in his music, and this endorsement is of the same caliber.

From Bruce Springsteen:

Dear Friends and Fans:

LIke most of you, I've been following the campaign and I have now seen and heard enough to know where I stand. Senator Obama, in my view, is head and shoulders above the rest.

He has the depth, the reflectiveness, and the resilience to be our next President. He speaks to the America I've envisioned in my music for the past 35 years, a generous nation with a citizenry willing to tackle nuanced and complex problems, a country that's interested in its collective destiny and in the potential of its gathered spirit. A place where "...nobody crowds you, and nobody goes it alone."

At the moment, critics have tried to diminish Senator Obama through the exaggeration of certain of his comments and relationships. While these matters are worthy of some discussion, they have been ripped out of the context and fabric of the man's life and vision, so well described in his excellent book, Dreams of My Father, often in order to distract us from discussing the real issues: war and peace, the fight for economic and racial justice, reaffirming our Constitution, and the protection and enhancement of our environment.

After the terrible damage done over the past eight years, a great American reclamation project needs to be undertaken. I believe that Senator Obama is the best candidate to lead that project and to lead us into the 21st Century with a renewed sense of moral purpose and of ourselves as Americans.

Over here on E Street, we're proud to support Obama for President.

Bruce Springsteen

Now with that said, musicians and celebrities in general are not given much weight when it comes to their endorsement of one candidate or another. Everyone thought that the mega-star Oprah Winfrey would boost Barack's campaign and all it did was make a story or two (or several thousand) for the media to scrutinize and yell at each other over. With that said though, some musicians are "tougher than the rest" when it comes to being active not only in politics, but advocating for social change. With all of the artists out there, Bruce Springsteen is definitely on that short list of extraordinary talent.

We Are Livin' In The Future

If only I had known Friday morning, I would have been up at Rockefeller Center to hear Bruce's free concert. He played some old favorites and from his new album. This new one is called "Livin in the future" and the words ring so true. What is happening to this country under the Bush Administration sounds like something out of a strange science fiction story, unfortunately it is our reality.

Sing A Song For Jersey

A recent civics trip for some New Jersey High School students has turned into a campaign for the Garden State to adopt an official song. Out of all the states in the Northeast, New Jersey is silent. On this side of the Hudson we have "I Love New York," New Jersey has other symbols for bees and even dinosaurs, so the kids want to change that. So what is it, Springsteen or Bon Jovi?

From The New York Times:

Jane Hall, Regina Balsys and Sue Gethard, who are teachers, said that their civics classes have started a campaign to persuade legislators to adopt the Bon Jovi song (“Who Says You Can’t Go Home?'’ ). They invited State Assemblyman Brian E. Rumpf to the school, who explained to them how a bill gets adopted, and told them that if they wanted to see the song chosen as the state song, it would help to gather more support.

The students decided to take up the cause. Why didn’t they consider a Bruce Springsteen song? He is the native son who comes to mind, probably more than the fellow New Jerseyan Mr. Bon Jovi, when it comes to songs about the state.

While Ms. Hall calls herself “a diehard Springsteen fan,’’ she deemed his “My Hometown” too sad and said “Born to Run,'’ which has been considered a contender to represent the state, is a bit inappropriate. She said: “He talks about leaving home. He says, ‘it’s a death trap, it’s a suicide rap.’ That’s not exactly a state song.’’

I would personally choose Springsteen as would my Jerseygirl mom who grew up there in the 60s. Bon Jovi represents a younger crowd overall (even though Springsteen has fans of all ages) so this isn't too surprising. No matter what song actually makes it into law, at least there will be something to sing about in the Garden State.