No Surrender

"Wisconsin is Kerry Country", a large banner proclaimed, and looking at the sea of people stretched as far as the eye can see, it was hard to argue with that. The crowd last Thursday was the largest ever to assemble in Madison, WI.

Bruce Springsteen opened for John Kerry, in an event that was recounted by Salon's [subscription or ad view required] Tim Grieve:

Springsteen called on the country to face "America's hard truths, both the good and the bad." "That's where we find a deeper patriotism, that's where we find a more complete view of who we are. That's where we find a more authentic experience as citizens, and that's where we find the power ... to make our world a better and a safer place."

As the huge crowd grew quiet, Springsteen quoted the late Sen. Paul Wellstone -- "The future is for the passionate" -- and he said the time to act is now. "That's why I'm here today to stand alongside Senator Kerry and to tell you that the country we carry in our hearts is waiting." When he was done, Springsteen reached for his guitar and leaned into "No Surrender," the song that opens every Kerry campaign rally.

Meanwhile, over at the Bush camp...

The Bush/Cheney campaign was revealed to have doctored its ad "Whatever It Takes", peppering it with repeated images of the same soldiers.

Kerry/Edwards '04 released this statement about it:

"Now we know why this ad is named 'Whatever it Takes,'" said Kerry campaign adviser Joe Lockhart. "This administration has always had a problem telling the truth from Iraq to jobs to healthcare. The Bush campaign's advertising has been consistently dishonest in what they say. But today, it's been exposed for being dishonest about what we see. If they won't tell the truth in an ad, they won't tell the truth about anything else."

The ad has since been pulled and corrected. Mark McKinnon, head of the campaign's ad team took responsibility for the embarrassing makeover, the only person I know of in team Bush to take responsibility for anything.

The embarrassment didn't stop there, however. John Hall, co-writer of the 1970s hit song "Still The One" which is being played at Bush's campaign rallies, revealed that the campaign did not ask his permission to use the song and asked them to stop.

Mr. Hall, a former Democratic county legislator in upstate New York, his ex-wife who co-wrote the song with him and all members of the band are avid supporters of John Kerry. Apparently, they don't think Bush is "the one".

• Kerry image from afp via yahoo.com.
Bush ad image from dailykos.com.

+Save/Share | |