'Vote Obama' says The Boss

2008-10-06 10:03

Columbus - For the second day in a row, rock star Bruce Springsteen sang a few songs and urged thousands of potential voters in a battleground state to register and support Democrat Barack Obama.

Springsteen's free acoustic concert at Ohio State University in front of about 10 000 followed a performance on Saturday in Philadelphia, where he called the Bush administration "a disaster".

He repeated that comment on Sunday, and indicated that Obama would lead an "American reclamation project" to restore the country's international reputation.

"Despite the terrible erosion to our standing in the world, we remain for many people a house of dreams," he said. "And 1 000 George Bushes and 1 000 Dick Cheneys will never be able to tear that house down."

Absentee voting period

Springsteen's appearance was aimed at encouraging Obama supporters to take advantage of Ohio's weeklong same-day voting period, in which state residents can register and cast an absentee ballot on the same day.

Absentee voting in Ohio began on Tuesday. The state's voter registration deadline is on Monday.

Springsteen performed The Rising, a song regularly played at Obama rallies, and Youngstown, his celebration of the working class in the northeast Ohio manufacturing city.

Springsteen was at Ohio State and in Cleveland during the 2004 presidential campaign, when he performed and appeared at rallies alongside then-Democratic nominee John Kerry.

Springsteen plans to play at an Obama gathering in Michigan on Monday. On October 16, he will join Billy Joel at an Obama fundraiser in New York City.

- AP