Sen. Barack Obama has had trouble establishing himself as the blue-collar candidate in his quest for the Democratic presidential nomination.

Just the same, he’s won the support of one of America’s best known working-class heroes in Bruce Springsteen, who said that the Illinois Senator “speaks to the America I’ve envisioned in my music for the past 35 years.”

In a letter addressed to friends and fans posted his website, Bruce Springsteen said he believes Barack Obama is the best candidate to undo “the terrible damage done over the past eight years.” He says of Obama:

“He has the depth, the reflectiveness, and the resilience to be our next president. He speaks to the America I’ve envisioned in my music for the past 35 years, a generous nation with a citizenry willing to tackle nuanced and complex problems, a country that’s interested in its collective destiny and in the potential of its gathered spirit. A place where ‘…nobody crowds you, and nobody goes it alone.’ ”

The pride of New Jersey, 58, is known for his themes and lyrics revolving around the struggles of working-class Americans, but touched with hope, with tales of the economically ravaged manufacturing / factory towns of the Northeast.

So much for the “elitist” or “out of touch” tags Barack’s rivals like to pin on him. Here’s a funny video made by Slate.com, conjuring up a faux attack ad Hillary Clinton (and Celine Dion) might run to decry Springsteen and Obama …