Springsteen endorses Obama for president
The Illinois senator is the best candidate to lead 'a great American reclamation project,' the rocker says. Murtha says McCain, 71, is too old to lead the nation.
WASHINGTON -- Bruce Springsteen, the rocker who made "Born in the USA" a signature of working-class pride, endorsed Democrat Barack Obama for president today.
"He has the depth, the reflectiveness and the resilience to be our next president," Springsteen said in a letter posted on his website and distributed by the Obama campaign. "He speaks to the American 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.' "
Springsteen did not mention Obama's Democratic rival, New York Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, by name. But the bard of New Jersey, who has written lyrics about the economically devastated towns of the Northeast, seemed to challenge her recent criticisms of Obama for saying that working-class Americans are bitter about their financial hardships, and for fanning the controversy over Obama's involvement with the fiery Rev. Jeremiah Wright..
"Critics have tried to diminish Sen. Obama through the exaggeration of certain of his comments and relationships," Springsteen said in his letter. "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 ... often in order to distract us from discussing the real issues."
With less than a week to go before Tuesday's showdown primary in Pennsylvania, where blue-collar Democrats could make the difference, Springsteen urged voters to consider "the terrible damage done over the past eight years," and to undertake "a great American reclamation project."
The Illinois senator, he said, "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."
Clinton, who has been endorsed by musician Elton John, today picked up the backing of the Operative Plasterers' and Cement Masons' International Assn., representing about 45,000 plasterers and cement masons in the construction industry. "We need a leader with Hillary Clinton's ability to turn around the economy and rebuild the middle class," said association President Pat Finley. "She has a clear record fighting for working families, and is the strongest candidate to go toe-to-toe with John McCain in November."
