Bruce Springsteen held a free concert at a rally in support of President Barack Obama’s reelection Tuesday. With the debates over and the election two weeks away, both campaigns are calling in any last-minute measures they can to try to sway the close polls in their favor.
Springsteen entered nTelos Wireless Pavilion downtown to tumultuous applause and chants of “Bruce,” and he used the opportunity to remind voters of the importance of voting on Election Day, Nov. 6. Echoing his message from his recent appearance in Iowa in which he described a gap between the American Dream and Reality, The Boss said, “I’m here because our vote is one of the principle ways we get to determine that equation, we get to close that distance.”
Former Democratic Gov. Tim Kaine introduced Springsteen, saying he wanted to make sure Obama was reelected “because of Virginia” rather than in spite of it. Recent polls have Obama in a virtual dead heat in the state against Republican challenger Mitt Romney with a 4 percent margin of error.
Virginia, and Charlottesville in particular, has been a frequent target of both campaigns, with Obama visiting last month and Republican vice presidential nominee Paul Ryan scheduled to host a rally in Crutchfield Thursday.
The rally was aimed at enthusing the Democratic base, Center for Politics spokesperson Geoff Skelley said.
“What’s more important with something like this is enthusiasm,” Skelley said. “The Obama campaign is using Springsteen to enthuse people who are going to vote for Obama anyway.”
Charlottesville’s student population makes it a key location to spread the “get out the vote” message because Obama has “done so much for students” said Lauren Schauer, a second-year College student who volunteers for Obama’s grassroots campaign.
Romney came out of the first debate with momentum on his side, but the Democrats have gained ground in Virginia recently, Skelley said.
“The president has staunched the bleeding over the last two debates,” he said. “Democratic enthusiasm suffered and Republican enthusiasm is up.”
Spokespersons for the Romney campaign declined to be interviewed for this article but have previously expressed confidence their candidate will win Virginia.
Springsteen, who has often campaigned for Democratic candidates in the past, is appealing to voters of different generations, Skelley said. But his afternoon performance could not be mistaken for the show he gave later Tuesday evening at the John Paul Jones Arena, as the matinee consisted of an acoustic set including the classic “Thunder Road” and the campaign’s theme “We Take Care of Our Own.”
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