Springsteen packs the Parkway

Watch the audio slide show and listen to excerpts of The Boss's concert

Bruce Springsteen has spent his life writing music on the American dream. Now, he says, Democratic presidential nominee Sen. Barack Obama is the man who can make that dream a reality.

On Saturday, Springsteen, the legendary singer and songwriter also known as "The Boss," performed in downtown Philly for a free public concert on behalf of Obama in the final push before today's voter registration deadline.

"I've spent most of my creative life measuring the distance between [the] American promise and American reality," Springsteen said, "and for many Americans . the distance between that promise and that reality has never been greater."

More than 50,000 people attended the concert, according to figures provided by the Obama campaign.

Zach Friend, an Obama spokesman, said that Springsteen contacted the campaign about performing and specifically requested Philadelphia.

Springsteen performed for about an hour, mixing commentary between songs.

Friend said volunteers who had completed a four-hour shift for the campaign received preferred access closer to the stage.

In recent days, Obama campaign volunteers have knocked on over 200,000 doors in Pennsylvania.

Friend said the event "rewards volunteers and thanks [them] for all the hard work that they've put up in the last 16 months, and it also reminds people of the importance to register."

Those in attendance appreciated the concert, but know that the race could be close against Republican nominee Sen. John McCain, and that plenty of work is required if Obama hopes to win on election day.

"I've never been as involved as I am now," said Todd Miano, a 27-year-old doctor at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, who said this was the "most important" election of his lifetime.

"If I get eight people to volunteer and those eight people get another 16 people to vote for Barack, that's more votes for our side," said Mark Stokes, 33, who wanted "to come out, and get involved, and do my part."

Even for older Philadelphians, like volunteer Francine Strauss, the event was unlike anything she had ever seen for a political candidate in the city.

The event represented a broader effort from the Obama campaign to ensure that Democrats continued to comfortably outnumber Republicans in the state by 1.2 million people.

"With Sen. McCain moving out of Michigan, we know that Pennsylvania is the [swing] state," said Friend. "The way that we counter that is through this volunteer, grass-roots effort."

According to recent polls, Pennsylvania is still a close race, and the campaign clearly believes that students could make the difference.

"If you're a college student going to college in Pennsylvania [...] you can legally, and you should, register in the next few days here in Pennsylvania," said Gov. Ed Rendell, who attended the event with Democratic Sen. Bob Casey.

Pennsylvania election law does not prohibit students from registering in the state, even if they live elsewhere.

"If this is a close election, which it still might be, that may be the difference between winning and losing," Rendell said.

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