Pearl Jam's Eddie Vedder performed at a fundraiser for President Barack Obama on Thursday (Sept. 20), using the occasion to share his thoughts on challenger Mitt Romney's candidacy.

"It's very upsetting to hear a presidential candidate be so easily dismissive of such a ginormous amount of the population," Vedder told the audience, referring to Romney's recent remarks about Obama supporters making up a supposed "47 percent" of the country that he claims doesn't pay taxes. Under a Romney administration, cautioned Vedder, "none of those 47 percent of people would have a voice."

Vedder also praised government programs, such as the one that helped train him for the early job that helped fund his musical ambitions. "It was that job that allowed me to also afford the guitars and tape recorder and microphones I needed to let me afford keep working on music," he pointed out, adding, "It was also the job I reluctantly left to move up to Seattle for less pay, in order to join a band. It all worked out."

At one point during his set, which included covers of James Taylor's 'Millworker' and Neil Young's 'Rockin' in the Free World,' Vedder took a jab at those who continue to believe Obama wasn't born in the United States, pointing at his ukulele and quipping, "It's got a little birth certificate right in there."

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