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Y! MyWebSpringsteen raises his voice for a cause
Tuesday, October 07, 2008
I hate to disagree with Dave Hobson, a fine congressman we all should be sad about losing. But as a Bruce Springsteen fan of 34 years standing, I must take issue with his remarks about the Boss' rally for voter registration at Ohio State University. Hobson compared such events to the days when political parties passed out shots of whiskey in exchange for votes.
What, he's mistaking Springsteen for Motley Crue?
If Hobson had attenaded the rally at OSU's Main Oval, I think he would have come away with a different opinion. There was no mistaking Springsteen's seriousness of purpose or the earnest mood of the teeming crowd. (For the record, I didn't see any alcohol, or sniff a whiff of marijuana.)
"This is his way of dedicating his time and talent and resources to a cause he believes in," said Kriss Gang of Washington Twp., a volunteer coordinator with the Obama campaign. "His words were very much to the heart and very emotional."
Gang met Springsteen as part of the Washington Twp./Centerville team that won a statewide challenge issued by the Obama campaign. They easily outdistanced any other team in the state by knocking on nearly 4,000 doors and registering 106 new voters during a three-day period. Their closest competition, a team from Cleveland, knocked on some 1,600 doors.
"Bruce was a great guy," Gang said, "real humble, real personable. It was worth every door we knocked on."
After being introduced by John Glenn, Springsteen broke into a playful riff of The Byrds' "Mr. Spaceman" as this unlikely pairing of legends shared the stage. "It's not every day you get introduced by John Glenn," he noted.
The crowd of 10,000 cheered as Springsteen played favorites such as "Youngstown" and "Promised Land" during his 50-minute solo acoustic set.
"I've spent 35 years writing about America, its people and the meaning of the American promise," Springsteen said. "That promise was handed down to us with one instruction: Do your best to make these things real — opportunity, equality, social and economic justice, a fair shake for all our citizens, the American ideal as a positive influence around the world for a more just and peaceful existence. These are the things that give our lives hope, shape and meaning. They are the ties that bind us together and give us faith in our contract with one another. I've spent most of my creative life measuring the distance between that American promise and American reality. For many Americans, who today are losing their jobs, their homes, seeing their retirement funds disappear, who have no health care, or who have been abandoned in our inner cities, the distance between that promise and that reality has never been greater or more painful. I believe Sen. Obama has taken the measure of that distance in his own life and in his work. I believe he understands, in his heart, the cost of that distance, in blood and suffering, in the lives of everyday Americans. I believe as president he would work to restore that promise to so many of our fellow citizens who have justifiably lost faith in its meaning."
Whether you agree with him or not, whether you support Barack Obama or John McCain, this is hardly old-school political bribery.
It's just one American citizen, raising his voice.
