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I was there at the Springsteen concert last night. Here is what I heard:

1. As described, he called for the President's impeachment, and tried to get a chant going of Impeach, Impeach, Impeach.

2. He mockingly referred to "an undisclosed location" and later said that he welcomed people of all political persuasions - except perhaps for Dick Cheney.

3. What really took the cake (where I had to get up and leave) is when he totally stopped singing and went into a political monologue, talking about how we may have been misled into the war in Iraq, and how serious it was to have such misrepresentation when it dealt with the lives of our Servicemembers. It was presented as if it was a fact that there had been significant falsification, and his recommended solution (as reported above) seemed to be that we should get someone in there who will get us out of there.

I've been a long term fan of Springsteen, but this to me was beyond irresponsible - it either ignores the threat (tough to do after 9-11) or recommends surrender. I guess the arguement will be that there was no threat from Sadaam, that he was unrelated to al Queda - but this will be proven wrong, and in the interim we should give those with access to the real intelligence (i.e. the President) the benefit of the doubt, so we can function effectively (an important safety tip when at war).

This is his statement from his opening night show at Giants Stadium, 7-15-03. I attended the 7-17-03 and he said essentially the same. Now, he has obviously become more strident and vocal in his anti-Bush rantings.

BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN STATEMENT ON OPENING NIGHT AT GIANTS STADIUM

"People come to my shows with many different kinds of political beliefs; I like that, we welcome all. There have been a lot of questions raised recently about the forthrightness of our government. This playing with the truth has been a part of both the Republican and Democratic administrations in the past and it is always wrong, never more so than when real lives are at stake. The question of whether we were mislead into the war in Iraq isn't a liberal or conservative or Republican or Democratic question, it's an American one. Protecting the democracy that we ask our sons and daughters to die for is our responsibility and our trust. Demanding accountability from our leaders is our job as citizens. It's the American way. So may the truth will out."

I respectfully disagree - He did not "Call for Impeachment"... As part of the band intros, he has ALWAYS called for Clarence to run for President.

He did not try to lead the crowd in chants of "Impeach". I was in the GA area right in front of the stage, and it just did not happen.

What is being discussed is what has been termed "The PSA" that happens in the second encore. He spoke about demanding accountability from Both Democrats and Republicans. He actually stated that his shows draw from both sides of the political arena, and all are welcome.

Up until last year, Bruce Springsteen publicly supported President Bush. The issue seems to be the Iraq "crisis", and the reasons that lead to war, and the costs afterward.

And, in no specific order, some answers to some misconceptions:

"The River" was written about his sister, he just did not use her real name.

"Born in the USA" is about how we, as America, treated the Vietnam vet after the war was over.

Bruce Springsteen also gave a PSA last night to support the Capital Area Food Bank.

41 Shots was totally blown out of proportion. The final line is "You can get yourself killed by simply living in your American Skin".

"The Rising" has one central theme. HOPE! Hope that drives a person to overcome a tragedy. Hope to stop suicide bombings (the tour premier of "Paradise" was also last night) and the hatred between peoples.

Bruce is a life-long democrat. But he does not actively promote one candidate over another.