BRUCE WON’T LIKE THIS PIECE BY KYLE SMITH: Bruce Springsteen, Accidental Patriot: How Bruce Springsteen helped reelect Ronald Reagan. “With the album’s release, the flag became the star image of the summer of 1984. Back then, hit LPs were a kind of American wallpaper: You’d see them everywhere. Everyone spent a lot of time in malls, all of the malls had record stores, and all of the record stores displayed their best-selling and most eye-catching albums. Sticking in the top ten all summer, Born in the U.S.A., featuring Springsteen’s white T-shirt and blue jeans in front of the flag’s stripes, was emblazoned on America’s retina. It was an unintended gift to Reagan’s reelection campaign. It helped make America feel good about itself, even great about itself. When, that August, America dominated in the Los Angeles Summer Games that were being boycotted by the Soviet Union and its lackeys, it was the most patriotic moment since the moon landing. For good measure, the hit movie at the time was Red Dawn. Reagan’s landslide was assured before election season even kicked off after Labor Day.”
Related (From Ed): ‘Born In the USA’ Now Fits The Conservative Message.
It’s a trenchant commentary on the failures of the Great Society and radical environmentalism.