Kris Kristofferson photo courtesy of New West Records.
February 29, 2008 - With the Texas primaries coming up on Tuesday, Kris Kristofferson - who was born in Brownsville - is jumping in the political ring, giving his endorsement to the Democratic candidate from Illinois.
"I believe in Barack Obama like I believed in the Kennedys," Kris says. "In the months before his death, John Kennedy pointed out that while we could not agree on their choice of government; there was much in the history of Russian people we could admire in terms of personal courage in the World War and artistic and scientific achievement. It's this spirit of finding common ground and working things out through dialogue and diplomacy that the world needs so desperately today at this critical point in our history. This is the hope that Obama inspires."
Like his friend Willie Nelson, who has twice backed Dennis Kucinich for president, Kris is no stranger to politics. In concerts over the last few years, he's taken vocal issue with the war in Iraq, and in the 1980s, he devoted an entire album to opposition to U.S. intervention in Nicaragua.
Kris is a former Army captain who turned down an opportunity to teach at West Point, opting instead to go to Nashville to become a songwriter. He wrote such hits as "Me And Bobby McGee," "Help Me Make It Through The Night" and "For The Good Times" on his way to earning a place in the Country Music Hall of Fame.