After the Alfred E Smith dinner last night, Barack Obama shed his white tie and tails and joined Bruce Springsteen, Billy Joel, John Legend and India Arie onstage at the Hammersmith Ballroom, delivering 20 minute speech after the musicians had fired up the crowd with "Allentown," "Glory Days," and of course "Born to Run." As Legend and Iriie finished "Peope Get Ready," Obama strode on stage in a dark suit, his shirt open at the collar.

"What a magical evening which I will not spoil with a long speech," began the candidate who told the crowd what he had said to his wife while watching the show from backstage:

I called her over and said honey, the reason I’m running for president is I can’t be Bruce Springsteen. I can’t be Billy Joel. I can’t sing like John Legend and India Arie. All I have is words. In some ways words are always inadequate. You guys have just heard four of the finest musicians in the world.

Obama then spoke about meeting Americans along the campaign trail, their hardships and the need for bravery and unity:

The point is, all across this country the people that Billy and Bruce sing about, every day they get up and they are working hard…This is the moment when we are being tested. This is the time when we are going to have to look back 10 years from now, 20 years from now and say, did we lose our nerve? Did we lose our sense of purpose? Or  did we rise up and come together?

But he pointed out, this is not the time for complacency:

Don’t underestimate the capacity of Democrats to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory. Don’t underestimate our ability to screw it up. I want everybody running scared. Over the next 18 days, other than your family and your job, I want you to make a decision that there is nothing more important than bringing about this change that we need.

Then as the musicians revved up "Signed, Sealed, Delived," Michelle Obama joined her husband onstage and the couple bumped hips in time to the music.

 [via pool reports, Chicago Sun Times, NYTimes and  Reuters]