UPDATE: From “The Fix” who declares that Eastwood was “so bad we named him twice” in their Winners & Losers from last night.
—–
Clint Eastwood delivered a rambling performance at the Republican National Convention on Thursday night in a speech that included the Hollywood legend speaking to an empty stool and telling an imaginary President Barack Obama “I’m not going to shut up” and calling the president “absolutely crazy.”…Democrats were quick to pounce, with Obama deputy campaign manager Stephanie Cutter tweeting: “Wow.”
“Referring all questions on this to Salvador Dali,” Obama campaign spokesman Ben LaBolt said in an email to POLITICO, referring to the late surrealist painter.
“Clint Eastwood’s speech tonight brought new meaning to the good, the bad and the ugly … but mostly just the bad and the ugly,” said Obama campaign spokesman Lis Smith.
Folks, we really don’t have the heart to tear into Clint Eastwood in the manner he certainly deserves for his disastrous, barely coherent joke of a speech last night. After all, there is an entire generation of American men whose ideal of machismo–not the poofy-haired Tom Selleck 1980s version, the real stuff–pretty much revolved around either Old West loner Clint Eastwood or Dirty Harry. The musical Paint Your Wagon, of course, never happened.
Out of respect for one of the great icons of 20th century American cinema, we hope readers will remember Clint Eastwood for the way he stared down Lee Van Cleef in The Good, The Bad, and the Ugly. And forget all about what happened last night.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v…
When Wolfe Blitzer went into full freakout mode and a few other talking heads started to flare their nostrils you knew Eastwood had made an impact.
Many people know its time for a change …. and this is very painful for so many that had so much hope with Obama in those first few months.
Maybe Obama has plans to bring change and maybe he’ll articulate those. Is it too late?
You Obama backers can only hope that the union bosses and Obama Super PACs make the commitment to do the required GOTV. You still have 60 days to convince Americans that 8.3% unemployment, 23 million Americans out of work, is not something to cry over, that it’s not a national disgrace.
Got anything new? No new talking points coming through that tinfoil hat today?
Better left to Betty White. The whole thing was just painful to watch — it felt like my Grandpa was up there making a fool of himself.
Clint Eastwood was brilliant in Gran Torino. I prefer to think of him that way.
I thought it was great.
….since you have no grasp on reality, or understand irony, or any sense of the esthetic. Just like your boy, Lyin’ Ryan’s out-of-his-ass untruths that even the conservative press pointed out, if 90% of the political world thinks Eastwood was embarrassing, you can’t see it.
Your tinfoil hat has slipped over your eyes.
So when you coming by for coffee to discuss our family’s use of “entitlements?”
The GOP stages an empty chair upon which to vent their empty vapid diatribes. They aren’t attacking the actual President because they LIE about his accomplishments, his failures, and his record.
For Ryan to to falsely blame Obama again & again for the GM plant closure — a claim that has been easily provem a LIE is a perfect example of their empty hate. They can’t fight with facts so stage the artifice and LIE and their sheeple buy it.
They can’t even take 60 minutes of free network coverage which was their only opportunity to present completely uncensored propaganda without screwing it up.
Republicans acknowledge they left a mess for President Obama to handle from the failed Bush Administration. Then, they presented the most pathetic slate of primary candidates in history — Cain, Perry, Bachmann, Trump, ughh. And, then the disaster that was last night.
Americans will conclude that the current Republican Party is not competent to run the government.
BTW – Can you imagine the right-wing response if the Dems had done a Clint Eastwood equivalent (i.e., telling a GOP President to go fuck himself) at their convention?
suggesting the empty chair wanted Gov. Romney to do the same to himself was weird, disrespectful and beneath dignity for a national political convention. We probably won’t hear much about this from the Republican camp but I can’t believe Gov. Romney, his campaign or other national Republicans blieve Clint Eastwood’s speech helped or added anything. It was certainly the low point of the evening.
100+
I found myself reminded of the story of Romney and the prep school “prank” of ganging up on one kid and cutting his hair; or, the birther crack; or, further back,
Barbara Bush’s remark on Geraldine Ferraro..”rhymes with itch”….
All of those speak to finding humor in hurting people………
Complacent polyannas.
Manager Mitt know’s what he is doing.
Be afraid. Be very very afraid
for the Super Bowl when many Rs thought he had becoe a D. The Rs played on the guilt he suffered from that to entice him to speak last night. And he did.
I expect Eastwood has set a very low bar that many H’wooders are begging the DNC to allow them to jump over.
would have been better served to just give the same speech he gave in that Dodge commercial.
really a democrat and that he was a “plant” and his little “chat” was a deliberate ploy to sabatage the Republican National Convention…
god, if only……
he is republican, through and through.
However, can the Democrats continually depend on the Republicans making the stupidest of mistakes?????
Maes, Ken “buyer’s revenge” Buck; and now Ted Adkin….the temptation to “help” the process along must be great.
I think so.
the friggin’ right-wing-radio looney fests. Your mind will thank you.
finding this unfortunate. Many in Romney’s camp voiced such sentiments as it doesn’t matter because it’s about policy, as if Romney has mentioned any, or give the guy a break, He’s 82. Or this…
is a Gestalt technique in which the speaker/patient expresses feelings they may not have done with a deceased person or even a living one where the speaker has difficulty expressing. I also remember doing it in a drama club in high school. Clint would have not received much praise for his performance from our club, unless he was armed.
Clint is going to recieve a lot of crap from H’wood peers. May evven receive a mention during the Oscars.
Politicians take themselves way to seriously. Frankly, I’d vote for Clint over either of these two idiots. You don’t think every President (except Carter) doesn’t tell some to go f—– themselves every day? You’re kidding yourself. That’s what they should be told, every damn day. As for me, his speech didn’t make me like Romney any better or Obama any worse. He was speaking for your average disaffected voted. That’s me and that’s a lot of voters. To all the politicians this morning, I say, go f—- yourself.
This isn’t what the Romney camp wanted everyone to be talking about today. All reports are that aides backstage were appalled and while Romney put the best face on it I doubt he was really comfortable with so many references to F-ing oneself. And you hit the nail on the head…
That makes the Clint episode a clear fail for the Romney camp. They aren’t in the comedy business and they don’t care if you are amused unless your being amused helps them. You get an icon because you hope doing so will move persuadable voters in your direction. No net gain is a fail.
It’s also sad to see how closely Clint is coming to resemble Grandpa Simpson.
Was going to help them at all. They’re so boring and detached from real American that they think the best part of their evening was a disaster last night. I say the speech helps Romney.
It could have been a short sweet upper. Sure Romney’s speech did him some good. The bar was really low and he more than cleared it. But most people don’t watch conventions. Cute story the other day about an old Green Acres episode on one of the retro channels outperforming the convention.
Most just hear about it and see clips later. I sure didn’t watch the whole thing but got the highlights after. Late last night and today, we’re hearing about pathetic Clint. Ops are busy putting the best gloss on it all over network and cable and also explaining why they didn’t feature some of those people with the heartwarming stories in prime time when the mission was to humanize Romney.
You can bet the heartwarming stuff and the speech itself would be getting more play today without the Clint stuff. Better decisions would have helped Romney more with the voters he needs to pull from undecided to decided for him. Worst decision was not making sure Clint had a plan that they approved of and understood the time constraints they were looking for.
Good convention for them by the standards of such things but nowhere near out of the park and it’s a very close race so out of the park would have been a lot more helpful.
And trust me, Craig. You aren’t typical of the voter they’re now targeting. They are looking at the undecided clueless who respond well to vapid soundbites, feel good images and wanting to share a beer, or coffee or a coke or….well you know what I mean.
There always seems to be a cloud of stink over his “bold” moves like going to the Olmpics or having a “secret” speaker. Things always have a way of going weird with this guy.
Lee Van Cleef?!
That guy was a pussy compared to LIttle Bill. Lee Van Cleef can go fuck himself.
Yes. Yes it is.
Emperor of the North.
and report back…
by all means. Watch it.
Will Munney, outta MIssouri, who killed women and children:
Deserve’s got nothin’ to do with it.
Emporer of the North was great.
And well made.
But it did not have the …art of the exchange above.
Also – upon reflection, Unforgiven ( though not my favorite Western) is really about the 2nd Amendment RTBA.
When everyone gets to Big Whiskey, they have to turn in their guns to the sheriff. If more of the residents were armed, all the time, then the ranchers would be less likely to cut up whores, because the whores could shoot back and because who would cut someone when you could just shoot ‘em. And in the end, what we see is that an unarmed citizenry cannot instantly become an effective militia/posse just because it would be helpful. Instead they are more likely to hurt someone and cause property damage than actually shoot the target.
Deserve’s got nothin’ to do with it. Killls me.
Over at
KOS has it exactly right. Eastwood, the perfect framing for the entire Republican campaign, talking about an imaginary person.
who’ve got nothing do that a lot.
Yes, yes you did. Are you starting to realize that maybe the average frustrated voter doesn’t want to be identified with a guy who’s clearly off the deep end?
If my grandfather had tried giving a speech like that, I would have escorted him off the stage. Who wants to see a loved one endure that kind of humiliation?
Clint Eastwood is not on the ticket. Why bother?
the stammering octogenerian, the empty chari, and the collective tune out on this 3 day fib best in Tampa reminds me of this:
and its been a long time coming to the party of lies, and ideas of yesterday.
Romney jumped the shark with Eastwood.
No one in the Democratic Party had anything to do with inviting that guy to speak, nor with writing (?) his speech. If it was written – it felt improvised. His half time in America commercial had a much much tighter script – and better visuals. But than I am partial to Detroit steel and rolling stock.
Yes, yes you did.
Either defend it or apologize for it, but don’t try to do both. These comments stay on the blog forever, you know.
@InvisibleObama
RMoney stock declining on InTrade. C’mon ‘Pubs pony up on your guy. $4.30 pays out Ten Bucks, if you just Believe in America. Or, if you still want my advice, wait another couple of weeks–maybe you can pick up three for a ten-spot and triple your money come November!
Did you hear the rumor they were going to have a hologram of Reagan as the special guest? Apparently that was close to the truth. This guy was going to use it at a sub-venue at the convention.
“Reynolds obtained rights to a Reagan speech discussing small businesses and plans to use the hologram to promote the Jumpstart Our Business Startups Act. He has been working with AV Concepts, one of the companies behind the creation of the Tupac Shakur hologram, which was unveiled at this year’s Coachella Music Festival.
However, Reynolds says he discussed the idea with a number of Republican activists who asked him to delay the project out of concern it would overshadow Mitt Romney’s acceptance speech.” (Bold added by me.)
So instead they went with Clint….
Full story here:
http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/ti…
is the tool who doubled my personal taxes, because I was and am a small business woman.
I know he had Alzheimer’s at the time, but I still haven’t forgiven him.