Follow GDA on threads! @gdauthority
In the latest Rolling Stone magazine (with Barack Obama on the cover) there is an article titled "Artists Lend Voices to Obama Campaign" which they open up with a quote from Billie Joe.
The night Barack Obama clinched the Democratic nomination for president, Green Day's Billie Joe Armstrong found himself experiencing an unfamiliar emotion: hope. "After his acceptance speech, I have to admit, it took me an hour to get the lump out of my throat," says Armstrong, whose band's American Idiot was the defining protest album of the Bush years. "Obama inspires people, and this country needs inspiration. People are jaded, pissed off and embarrassed."

On page 4 of the same article he says:
"I don't want it to turn into a cult of personality. He's not Magic Man. The great thing would be if he could lead by example and inspire people to get their own shit together."

He said something similar in November of last year when Rolling Stone did an interview then. They asked him if any of the candidates gave him hope for the future:
Barack Obama, but it's a bit early to tell if this is the guy I like. I get sick of the religious-figure thing. People don't question their rulers, these political figures, just as they don't question their ministers and priests. They're not going to question George Bush, especially if he goes around talking about God -- "I'm going to let God decide this for me. He's going to give me the answer." The fear of God keeps people silent.

Related Links
Artists Lend Voices to Obama Campaign
Billie Joe Armstrong Interview Rolling Stone (Nov. 2007)
Did we miss something? Submit News.