Springsteen rallies for Obama in Ypsilanti

Susan Whitall / The Detroit News

YPSILANTI -- "Hello, Ypsilanti. Glad to be here, don't know how to spell it, though," Bruce Springsteen quipped as he took the stage at 4:50 p.m. Monday on the third stop of his Vote for Change 2008 mini-tour for Sen. Barack Obama's presidential campaign.

Dressed in a gray and white flannel shirt, Springsteen kicked off his set with several of his songs about the struggles of the working class. First, "The Promised Land," then he strapped on his harmonica harness for "The Ghost of Tom Joad," his bleak 1995 song about the protagonist of John Steinbeck's Dust Bowl tragedy, "The Grapes of Wrath."

He dedicated the next song, "Devils & Dust," to the troops deployed overseas, "may they come home soon safely." Then it was "Used Cars," a song about a hard-working father buying a "brand new used car" yet again. When he got to the line, "as my pa steers her slow out of the lot for a test drive down Michigan Avenue," the crowd cheered.

"Can't go wrong singing a song that has the name of the state in it," Springsteen said with a raspy laugh. "Cheap applause getter."

He went on to speak to the crowd about the American ideals that defined his life and career: social justice, generosity and opportunity for all.

"I know that I want my dream back, I want my America back, I want my country back. So now's the time to stand up for Barack Obama and Joe Biden, and let's come on up for 'The Rising.' "

He ended his set with Woody Guthrie's familiar anthem, "This Land Is Your Land," but it wasn't the politically correct version expunged of all leftist sentiments. Springsteen restores some of the Depression-era lines, including: "... in the squares of the city, in the shadow of the steeple, by the relief office, I saw my people/and some are grumbling and some are wondering if this land is still made for you and me..."

"Obama is going to be president of the United States," Springsteen vowed. "That's right. The tequila is lined up already."

Over the weekend, Springsteen performed at rallies in Pennsylvania and Ohio, performing an acoustic six-song set and urging fans to register to vote, and vote for Obama. After his rally here, Springsteen will perform a benefit for the Democratic candidate on Oct. 16 in New York with Billy Joel and John Legend.

Fans streamed into Eastern Michigan University's Oestrike Stadium when the gates of the baseball park opened at 3 p.m. Michael Malach, an associate athletics director at EMU, estimated the crowds eventually swelled to around 11,000.

Braving the chill Monday afternoon on field, Jane Doner, 60, of Ann Arbor had a "Boomers for Obama" button pinned to her jean jacket. Doner admitted she's more a fan of Obama, than of Springsteen. "I've supported a lot of candidates, but something about Obama has touched me."

Greg Zulewski, 61, a retired firefighter from Brooklyn, Mich., in Jackson County, drove an hour to attend the rally. "I'm surprised how many people still claim to be undecided," Zulewski said. "If I can change someone's mind by doing walks for Obama every weekend, great. Same thing with Springsteen; if he can convince someone to vote for Obama, great. Bruce really gives back to all us working class guys, he's still one of us."

Brooke Peschke was a young face even on a college campus; the Ann Arbor Pioneer High School student is 16 and admits that rapper Jay-Z's Saturday rally for Obama at Cobo Arena in Detroit would have been more her cup of tea. "My dad brought me," Peschke confessed.

Her grinning dad Rob, 48, said: "Sure it'll help," about voter registration efforts, although, "It's the very last minute," he pointed out. "But I've seen people with clipboards everywhere, signing people up to vote outside every grocery store, for weeks."

In between each act, Obama organizers asked that everybody register to vote, and called for volunteers with clipboards to raise them so people could see where they were.

First to perform was Ann Arbor folk favorite Dick Siegel, who came on at 3:25 p.m. "Last night, someone came up and asked if I would do this, and I said I wouldn't miss it for the world," Siegel said before beginning his brief set with "A Little Pain Never Hurt."

"John McCain is about to become a minor footnote in history, George Bush a bad dream, and we and Barack Obama are about to become tomorrow and the future," Siegel said. "This song is about one of the reasons we're all here today." He launched into an anti-war song, "Fighting for King George."

The folk theme continued with Kitty Donahoe, who sang "Shady Grove" and "Ready for a Change." Soldier Chris Owens came out to lead the pledge of allegiance, and the EMU Gospel Choir sang the "Star-Spangled Banner."

Then the political pitches began; Debbie Dingell spoke, then her husband, U.S. Rep. John Dingell. "You need to take your roommates ... you need to take your teammates ... and go out and vote. Sen. Barack Obama and the Democratic ticket needs you," Debbie Dingell screamed.

Dingell apparently didn't realize that the groundswell of "Bruuuuce" cheers weren't "boos." "Negativity won't win us the election," she said to the puzzled crowd.

At least candidate for Michigan Supreme Court judge Diane Hathaway referenced a Springsteen lyric, saying her opponents' philosophy was "a death trap, a suicide rap..."

Obama Ypsilanti field organizer Robert Johnson came out and made the voter registration pitch, then led the Obama cheer. He yelled "Fired up!" as the crowd responded, "Ready to go!"