A Final Concert for Kerry
In what supporters had hoped would be a victory party, James
Taylor, Jon Bon Jovi, Sheryl Crow and Black Eyed Peas played
Boston’s Copley Square last night as pundits and pollsters worked
to determine the outcome of the Presidential election. With Senator
John Kerry bunkered down nearby in his Boston home Tuesday night
with election tallies trickling in, the musicians performed for
thousands of supporters anxious for results.
Taylor sang the national anthem and addressed the crowd from the
stage. “It’s been an honor and a privilege to work in this
campaign,” he said. “I think we’ve seen an awakening in this
country.”
Last night’s show concludes an election cycle that saw an
unprecedented number of artists get involved in both non-partisan
get-out-the-vote campaigns, such as P. Diddy’s Vote Or Die mission,
and the liberal leaning Vote for Change tour, which featured the
likes of Bruce Springsteen, R.E.M., Pearl Jam, Dave Matthews and
the Dixie Chicks encouraging young voters to help put Kerry in
office.
Just days before the election, Crow, like many performers,
voiced the belief that this year’s election was crucial and broke
with her previous policy of being publicly non-partisan. “I have
never, at least in my recollection, come out and asked people to
vote for a particular candidate but instead have always encouraged
folks to get registered, do the research on issues that are
presented and vote,” Crow posted on her Web site. “I am, in this
instance, emphatically asking you to support John Kerry for more
reasons than I can count.”
With Ohio’s final election returns still pending, President Bush
appears to have won reelection. The Bush camp claimed victory this
morning.