« Britain: People Find It Difficult To Pay Off Loans…
AP Photographer: Jailed In Iraq For Two Years… »



Jig’s Up Hillary: Bruce Endorses Barack

April 16th, 2008
By SHAUN MULLEN, TMV Columnist

Print Print

151559__springsteen_l.jpgRocker Bruce Springsteen, who has gotten filthy rich (and deservedly so) for his gritty parables of blue-collar Americans, is defending — and endorsing — Barack Obama.

The Boss wrote in a message to fans that Obama’s comments that some small town Americans were “bitter” and so they clung to religion and guns, had been “ripped out of context.”

Wrote Springsteen on his website:

“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 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.”

Springsteen made his first foray into presidential politics by performing at events for 2004 Democratic nominee John Kerry. He pulled huge crowds to hear Kerry speak in Wisconsin, Ohio and other battleground states days before Kerry’s defeat.

More here.



This entry was posted on Wednesday, April 16th, 2008 at 9:22 am and is filed under Newsweek Blogitics, Celebrities, Barack Obama, 2008 Elections. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

Viewing 7 Comments

    • ^
    • v
    Obama's line was "ripped out of context"??

    Hmmm...sorta like how Obama kept ripping McCain's "100 year war" out of context...even AFTER being repeatedly called on it on network television...and AFTER that noted Republican neocon Frank Rich in the NYT denounced it as a "bogus Democratic attack line" and a "calumny".

    Oh, I forgot..."Obama Rules": Obama and his surrogates can do or say anything about rivals...but how dare anyone do the same to them. Oh, the humanity....

    I hope that the Boss will do the same sterling job for Obama in toasting HRC...that he did for Kerry in deposing Dubya.
    • ^
    • v
    "Nuanced and complex" -- [snicker]

    Springsteen is just practicing Hollywood Entertainer PC "Social Consciousness," a criterion of excellence (sic; PC conformity) of among that crowd.

    Maybe he's trying to get the next Nobel Peace Prize.
    • ^
    • v
    You know that Frank Rich column cites Hillary as doing the same thing? In the first paragraph of the story?
    REALLY, Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton should be ashamed of themselves for libeling John McCain.
    Of course you do.
    • ^
    • v
    It was ripped out of context, Marlowecan. When you read Obama's full response, it is clear that he is laying the blame on both political parties for causing voters to turn a blind eye towards economic promises on the stump. They are more likely to turn into single-issue (guns, anti-illegal immigration, anti-trade) voters when they believe the wider issues will never be addressed.

    I'm still not totally sure what you're saying, though. Is it okay to take Obama out of context because you believe Obama took McCain out of context? Are you saying that Springsteen is right and it's wrong to take Obama out of context, just like it was wrong to take McCain out of context? Or are you just looking to take a potshot without having to put down a coherent viewpoint?
    • ^
    • v
    Marlowe,
    Again, the larger context of the McCain quote...

    A) ...makes no sense. Iraq is not S. Korea or Germany or Japan. A great many people in the Middle East aren't too happy about the idea of an ongoing U.S. military presence, especially one that reeks of an occupying force.

    B) ...provides the same picture of McCain as the quote without the context. He has stated that we have to stay in Iraq to maintain our honor, fight terrorism, curb Iranian influence, etc. McCain has yet to provide a scenario in which our retreat would be necessary.

    So, we are left with the conclusion that McCain doesn't know that people in the Middle East have a tendency to fly into our skyscrapers when our troops in their countries. And that there is no chance our troops will ever leave Iraq because the mission there is so important.

    John "100 Years in Iraq" McCain sums that up pretty well.
    • ^
    • v
    Pyronite: "Or are you just looking to take a potshot without having to put down a coherent viewpoint?"

    I think it is wrong to take people's words out of context. Period. That is coherent, no?

    I have defended Obama when his words were bizarrely twisted re: his grandmother, his daughters etc. (the last being particularly repugnant, I thought)

    However, Obama repeatedly used the "100 years war" quote out of context. He has been called on it several times by reporters, who made the point that he was doing to McCain what Obama complained about. I posted a link to a video of this here...it has occurred serveral times since.

    My point: Obama - or Springsteen - cannot make the "out of context" complaint when they repeatedly do not extend that courtesy to John McCain.

    JanineDM: Yep, HRC has been using it. But most of her fire is for Obama these days. It is Obama who has been using it so often that reporters are now stopping interviews to call him on it. There was a YouTube of an Obama interview, on the Today show I think, of this occuring. It wasn't pleasant.

    ChrisWWW: The larger quote has McCain saying that he is willing to stay in Iraq for a 100 years, with the qualification that Americans aren't getting killed.

    Not a 100 years of Americans getting killed at the present rate.

    Chris, you are right in your larger point about McCain's policy, I think.

    But not about Obama's use of McCain's words. As Frank Rich said, it is a "bogus Democratic attack line".

    Rich is no friend of the GOP. But when one is getting called on it by reporters whenever one uses the same attack line...it is time to retire it and move on.
    • ^
    • v
    Four more years! Four more years!
 
close Reblog this comment
Powered by Disqus · Learn more
blog comments powered by Disqus

« Britain: People Find It Difficult To Pay Off Loans…
AP Photographer: Jailed In Iraq For Two Years… »


By posting comments on The Moderate Voice you are acknowledging and agreeing to the following general comments policy:

(1) The Moderate Voice's comments are hosted by Disqus (http://disqus.com). If your comment doesn't appear immediately, please be patient since it is an off-site system.

(2) All e-mail received from readers by The Moderate Voice is considered intended for publication unless otherwise indicated in the initial message from the writer. Please do not send us attachments unless you contact us and we agree to it.

(3)The Moderate Voice reserves the right to edit all e-mail and posted comments for content, clarity, and length.

(4) Our comment space is reserved for comments that relate to a post's topic. You should not reprint lengthy text from your own works or those of others, including news articles. You MAY link to them.

(5) Comments that are abusive, offensive, contain profane or racist material or violate the terms of service for this blog's host provider will be removed and the author(s) banned from future comments. Such comments also violate the very SPIRIT of this site -- which was created to encourage thoughtful and vigorous discussion among readers who may share differing viewpoints.

(6) All points of view are welcome on The Moderate Voice, with the following exceptions:

(a) Comments posted several times a day with the intent of dominating, re-directing or hijacking the thread by turning a discussion into the equivalent of a bitter shouting match.

(b) Comments posted several times a day that insult or call other commenters or blog writers names or repeatedly make the same point with the effect of or clear intent to annoy other commenters or blog writers.

(7) Name-calling, personal attacks, racist comments or use of profanity by any commenter, whether they are by persons who agree or disagree with the views expressed by The Moderate Voice will NOT be tolerated and will result in the deletion of the comment and the banning of the commenter's ISP address, without notice. In some cases a comment may be deleted and the writer will be given another chance. Commenters who virtually ASK The Moderate Voice to ban them by ignoring any warnings or daring TMV to ban them will quickly get their wish.

(8) Anonymous commenters should identify themselves with the same moniker, so readers know their comments are coming from a single individual. If they don't, they are subject to a banning.

(9)If we have problems with inappropriate or inflammatory comments from a commenter who it turns out gave a fake email address that person is subject to immediate banning.

(10) Quotes from material appearing on The Moderate Voice with attribution are allowed. Reprints are allowed only by permission from The Moderate Voice. You may request permission by e-mail.

(11) The Moderate Voice is a personal site. It is not the Government. It is NOT aligned with any political party. It is NOT promoting any specific candidate for office. It is not a public institution or a media organization. It is not a neutral site. It is intended to express and disseminate the authors' varying points of views. Writers on this weblog WILL take positions. It reserves the right to limit comments to those that, in its view, comport with its stated comment policy. Comments that do not comply are subject to deletion and banning of the author's ISP.

Disclaimer:

--Reading and posting comments at The Moderate Voice constitutes acknowledgment of and agreement to the terms outlined in this comment policy. This comment policy may be revised in part or in full at any time.

--All comments must comport with applicable state and federal laws. The Moderate Voice has no obigation to monitor, edit, censor, or take responsibility for comments. It may or may not act upon a violation of its comment policy once a suspected violation has been brought to its attention. Therefore, commenters are solely responsible for the content of their comments and should ensure that that their comments are lawful and fall within the stated guidelines of both The Moderate Voice and its hosting company.

--The Moderate Voice is not be responsible for injury or liability to any reader or commenter resulting from its own communications or those of commenters, that may be offensive, misleading, inaccurate, illegal, or otherwise unsuitable in the view of the reader. Readers and commenters further agree to indemnify and hold harmless The Moderate Voice from claims resulting from the use of any material appearing on The Moderate Voice which damages the reader, commenter or any other party.

--The Moderate Voice is not responsible for and might disagree with material posted in the comments section. While we strive for accuracy in our posts and DO correct errors, material posted by The Moderate Voice in its posts -- or those left by others in the comments section -- may or may not be accurate.

Read and Post at your own risk.