People of the Year 2004: Bruce Springsteen

Until 2004, Bruce Springsteen had kept his distance from partisan politics. But this year's presidential election changed his mind. As he told Rolling Stone in September, "Sitting on the sidelines would be a betrayal of the ideas I'd written about for a long time." Springsteen helped spearhead the Vote for Change Tour, then hit the campaign trail with John Kerry in the race's final weeks. What follows are Springsteen's own words, from a Kerry rally in Cleveland on the night of November 1st:

As a songwriter, I've been writing about America for thirty years: Who we are, what we stand for, what we fight for. I believe our American government has drifted too far from American values: the human principles of economic justice, healing the sick, health care, feeding the hungry, housing the homeless, a living wage so folks don't have to break their backs and then come home and not be able to make ends meet, an open American government that's unburdened by unnecessary secrecy, protection of our environment, sane and responsible foreign policy where we take our place amongst a community of nations, civil rights and the safeguarding of our precious democracy here at home.

Now, nobody's got all of the answers to all of America's problems. I got involved in this election because I saw the opportunity to have somebody in the White House with a heart, that would honestly ask the hard questions, that would respect our most struggling citizens -- and a spirit that would seek the solutions to bring us closer to fulfilling America's promise for everybody. I believe that John Kerry honors these ideals and that he'll work for them. He's lived our history over the past fifty years; he has an informed and adult view of America and her people. And he's had the life experience and understands that we as humans, we are not infallible, that we make mistakes. And as John Edwards said during the Democratic Convention, that struggle and heartbreak will always be with us, and that's why we need each other. That's why we need to be able to depend on and keep faith with one another through hard times and good times. That's why "One Nation Indivisible" and "United We Stand" can't be empty slogans but need to remain guiding principles of our public policy.

I was speaking to Senator Glenn from Ohio the other night, and he said that politics is supposed to be the Personnel Department of the Constitution. It is supposed to be shining service. And that's why we need good, wise and trustworthy servants to put our ideals in action. Senator Kerry, since he was a young man, has shown us by having the courage to face America's hard truths, both the good and the bad, that that's where we find a deeper patriotism, we find a more complete view of who we are; we find a more authentic experience as citizens, and that's where we find the power that is embedded only in truth to make our world a better and safer place for our kids to grow up in. These are the things that have brought me here tonight.

Paul Wellstone, the Minnesota senator, said, "The future is for the passionate." That's right -- and those that are willing to fight and work hard for it. Well, the future is now. It's time to roll up your sleeves and let your passions flow in the service of a more just and equitable society. That's why I'm here to stand alongside Senator Kerry and to tell you that the country we carry in our hearts is waiting.

Next: Bob Dylan