( dpa ) - Rock superstar Bruce Springsteen, a patriotic icon for many working-class Americans, gave his endorsement to Barack Obama Wednesday, handing the African-American senator a new advantage in the close race to win the Pennsylvania primary and the Democratic nomination for president.
"Like most of you, I've been following the campaign and I have now seen and heard enough to know where I stand. Senator Obama, in my view, is head and shoulders above the rest," he wrote in a letter to his fans.
The Pennsylvania vote is Tuesday, the largest and most important of the remaining handful of states left to vote. Obama has narrowly edged out Democratic rival Senator Hillary Clinton in the delegate count before August's nominating convention.
In a letter posted on his website, Springsteen wrote that Obama "speaks to the American I've envisioned in my music for the past 35 years, a generous nation with a citizenry willing to tackle nuanced and complex problems."
In a thinly-veiled reference to Clinton, Springsteen charged that Obama's critics have exaggerated his comments and relationships, ripping them "out of the context and fabric of the man's life and vision."