Rocker Bruce Springsteen, renowned for his gritty parables of American working class life, Wednesday defended Democratic White House hopeful Barack Obama, as he fights charges of elitism. ‘The Boss' wrote in a message to fans that the Illinois Senator's comments that some small town Americans were “bitter” so clung to religion and guns, had been ripped out of context.” “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,” Springsteen wrote on his website. “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.” “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 ... 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.” Obama's rivals Democrat Hillary Clinton and Republican John McCain have used his comments in San Francisco last week, to portray him as aloof from the struggles of blue collar Americans, in key battleground states. Springsteen wrote that Obama was the best candidate to lead a “great American reclamation project” to mend the “terrible damage” of the last eight years. The impact of celebrity endorsements in US presidential races is debatable, but Springsteen's defense of Obama may carry some cachet due to the content of his songs, many of which give voice to hopes and fears of small town America. The Boss made his first foray onto the presidential trail by performing at events for defeated 2004 Democratic nominee John Kerry. Days before the election, on a day-long swing through battleground states Wisconsin and Ohio, he pulled total crowds of 100,000 people to hear Kerry speak. __
