海角大神

Rocker Bruce Springsteen may be Republican New Jersey Gov. (and Mitt Romney campaign surrogate) Chris Christie鈥檚 musical idol. Gov. Christie claims to have been to 130 of 鈥淭he Boss鈥檚鈥� concerts going back to the 70s.

But the feeling between the two New Jersey notables is not mutual, and next week in Parma, Ohio, Mr. Springsteen will be rocking out for Barack Obama. Ohio, of course, is a key battleground state; no Republican has ever won the presidency without taking Ohio.

The Obama/Biden team has been emphasizing its fight for the working middle class, and that鈥檚 certainly been Springsteen鈥檚 philosophical and political soul ground over the decades.

His work for progressive causes and Democratic candidates goes back to 1972 when he did a benefit for George McGovern. In 2009, he and folk icon/rabble rouser Pete Seeger performed Woody Guthrie鈥檚 classic 鈥淭his Land is Your Land鈥� at Barack Obama鈥檚 at the Lincoln Memorial.

Obama campaign officials are delighted.

"Bruce Springsteen's values echo what the President and Vice President stand for: hard work, fairness, integrity," campaign manager Jim Messina said in a statement. "His appearances will help with our get-out-the-vote effort in these critical swing states and we are thrilled with his ongoing support."

As The Hill newspaper points out, Springsteen鈥檚 song 鈥淲e Take Care of Our Own,鈥� which appears on his 2012 album 鈥淲recking Ball,鈥� has been a staple at Obama rallies, and was played at the close of Obama鈥檚 acceptance speech at the Democratic National Convention.

Earlier this year, it seemed unlikely that Springsteen would work on behalf of Obama again this year as he did in 2008.

鈥淚 prefer to stay on the sidelines,鈥� he reportedly told an interviewer. 鈥淚 genuinely believe an artist is supposed to be the canary in the coal mine, and you鈥檙e better off with a certain distance from the seat of power.鈥�

At the time, he seemed somewhat disappointed in Obama.

鈥淚 would like to have seen more activism in job creation sooner than it came,鈥� he said, according to an ABC News report in February. 鈥淚 would like to have seen people helped out, seen some of these [home] foreclosures stopped somehow.鈥� Springsteen said Obama was 鈥渕ore friendly to corporations than I thought he would be, [and] there鈥檚 not as many middle-class or working-class voices heard in the administration as I thought there would be.鈥�

At the same time, Springsteen said, 鈥淗e kept GM alive, which was incredibly important to Detroit and Michigan, and he got the health care law passed, although I wish there had been a public option and didn鈥檛 leave the citizens victims of the insurance companies. He killed Osama bin Laden, which was extremely important. He brought some sanity to the top level of government.鈥�

It may well be that the closeness of the race 鈥� in particularly Mitt Romney鈥檚 ascendency in many public opinion polls since the first presidential debate 鈥� changed The Boss鈥檚 mind.

Obama鈥檚 lead in Ohio has slipped to barely more than a single percentage point from nearly six points two weeks ago. 鈥淩omney on the rise in Ohio鈥� read the headline Saturday in the Columbus Dispatch.

鈥淵ou know what? There鈥檚 a growing crescendo of enthusiasm,鈥� Romney told an estimated 8,500 supporters at a rally in Lancaster, Ohio, Friday night. 鈥淧eople recognize that this is not an ordinary campaign, this is a critical time in the country. There鈥檚 more energy and passion. People are getting behind this campaign.鈥�

鈥淩omney was previously greeted by huge crowds in Cuyahoga Falls on Tuesday night (12,000 people) and in Sidney, Ohio, on Wednesday night (9,000), and both he and Ryan have campaign stops scheduled in the state today,鈥� the Columbus Dispatch鈥檚 Joe Vardon reported Saturday. 鈥淩yan also added a noon rally in Cincinnati on Monday.鈥�

The next night will be the second Obama-Romney debate, this one in a town hall format at Hofstra University in Hempstead, NY.

Two nights later, Springsteen will join Democratic political rock star Bill Clinton for what could be a critical campaign rally in Parma, Ohio.