O'Boss For Obama!

To my way of thinking, Bruce Springsteen is THE consummate American musical artist of my lifetime. For more than 30 years he has told the particularly American story of Big Dreams met with Big Disappointments, while at the same time showing the possibility of keeping hope, joy, engagement, and rock & roll alive, thriving, and supporting the basic life of that dream and the lives of the people in his stories. He is the second coming of Woody Guthrie AND Johnny Cash, with a little bit of Billy Sunday and George M. Cohen thrown in for good measure.

There are plenty of people who don't share my perspective on The Boss. A lot of people, like Ronald Reagan, have not and do not understand the basic social realities at the root of even his most popular, most anthemic, songs (like Born In The USA).

This weekend, he once again spoke, sang, and showed his true colors at a rally for Barack in Philly.

You can read the text of his speech (before he sings The Rising) here.