Eddie Vedder claims 47% status at Obama fundraiser
Eddie Vedder, strumming a mandolin, started with a Pearl Jam hit, "Rise." Next he traded the mandolin for ukelele from Hawaii ("It has a little birth certificate in there," he joked). Vedder then covered a James Taylor song (couldn't immediately name that tune) and Neil Young ("Rockin' in the Free World"
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"I can't say I've ever played that many songs in a suit before," Vedder said.
He then referred Mitt Romney's 47 percent comments, offering a personal story. "I'm an example of someone who never made it to university," Vedder said. "I did have this dream to be a musician. I felt that this dream had an expiration date."
He recalled signing up for a government security guard training program. He was hired for the midnight shift, and later became the security supervisor at a petroleum company. "It was that job which he allowed me to keep affording to guitars and microphones," he said. "For me, it all began with that ability to get the proper training for a decent job."
"It's very upsetting to hear a presidential candidate be so easily dismissive of such a ginormous amount of the population," he said.
MORE:
http://www.tampabay.com/blogs/the-buzz-florida-politics/content/charlie-crist-joins-eddie-vedder-and-obama-fundraiser-tampa
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2012/09/20/1134615/-Eddie-Vedder-claims-47-status-at-Obama-fundraiser
