MICHAEL STIPE - STIPE BACKS OBAMA

R.E.M. star MICHAEL STIPE has become the latest celebrity to publicly support BARACK OBAMA's bid to become the next U.S. President because the senator is "a great question mark".
The Losing My Religion singer has joined the likes of Will Smith, Bruce Springsteen and Jessica Alba in endorsing Obama - and he insists the Democrat is the man the world needs to lead America.
In an interview with music magazine Death + Taxes, Stipe says, "I'm Obama all the way... That's what I think this country is looking for right now.
"I think he can help us pull ourselves from the mire that we are in...
"The system is pretty shut down on itself. Let's say, symbolically at least, he means a great deal... We represent something so massive to the rest of the world and they are sitting there with bated breath waiting for us to prove we are what they think we are."