Watching Clint Eastwood's train wreck at the Republican National Convention

MexicanStandoff said:

Is it not Eastwood?

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Bullvein said:

I guess people only see what they want to see, millions watched the Lonmin videos and there seems to be more than millions of differing opinions on what really happened there.

I personally don't see a train wreck.
I see an aging actor and entertainer using an empty chair as a prop device to depict Obama and his administration as, well, vacant seats.
Maybe you missed all the subtle and some not so subtle jabs and references to the current American administrations failures and foibles which I thought he did quite well, although a bit slow, my guess is the slowness was so that the liberal minded would have time to process the information, was obviously not slow enough.

The guy is getting on in years but in my opinion he still has a lot going on upstairs and still knows how to act and entertain, but then like I already said, people really only see what they want to see, so I'll just leave it there.

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Clint Eastwood talks to a chair on Romney's big day

Hollywood icon Clint Eastwood brought his star power and trademark gravelly voice to the stage of the convention hall in Tampa on Thursday where Republicans made Mitt Romney's day with the presidential nomination he long sought, jetting in as a surprise last-minute speaker to warm up the crowd for Romney's acceptance speech.

Eastwood's cameo appearance, including an ad-libbed monologue with an imaginary US President Barack Obama in an empty chair, seemed to thrill many in the audience, but was widely panned by observers across the political spectrum.

Just hours before the session began, Romney's campaign confirmed that Eastwood was coming to town. His speech came just before Florida Senator Marco Rubio introduced Romney for the biggest test of his White House bid.

Republicans have long criticised Obama for his cozy relations with a bevy of liberal Hollywood stars like George Clooney, but convention planners apparently wanted to show that they too could bring a touch of show-business glamour to bear.

"Clint, my hero, is coming across as sad and pathetic," legendary Chicago film critic Roger Ebert said in a message on Twitter. "He didn't need to do this to himself."

Former Romney adviser Mike Murphy tweeted: "Note to file: Actors need a script."

The 82-year-old Academy Award-winning director and actor, who endorsed Romney earlier this month, strode to the podium serenaded by the theme music from his classic western, The Good, The Bad and The Ugly.

Eastwood delivered an off-the-cuff, deadpan discourse, at times biting in its criticism of Obama, at times supportive of Romney's candidacy, whom he lauded for a "sterling" business record.

But more often he was nearly incoherent, meandering from one topic to another, including the state of the economy, the war in Afghanistan and the US detention centre at Guantanamo Bay.

At one point, Eastwood said he "never thought it was a good idea for attorneys to be president", apparently unaware that Romney holds a law degree.

In one of his lucid moments, Eastwood – squinting, with his gaunt face framed by thinning, dishevelled gray hair – told the cheering crowd: "When somebody does not do the job, we've gotta let them go."

Occasionally, he paused to berate the chair, telling an absent Obama to "shut up."

The phrase "invisible Obama" went viral on the I nternet , and pictures of people with empty chairs filled Twitter. Obama's own Twitter account posted a picture of Obama sitting in a chair marked "The President" with the comment, " This seat's taken."

Did Clint bomb?
Many felt that Eastwood bombed on the political stage.

"What the heck is THIS?" Obama campaign senior adviser David Axelrod tweeted.

"A great night for Mitt Romney just got sidetracked by Clint Eastwood. Wow. That was bad," tweeted Joe Scarborough, a former Republican congressman who currently does commentary for MSNBC.

Some in the audience, however, were left starry-eyed.

"He's a fabulous actor," said Rita Wray, a member of the Mississippi delegation, who praised Eastwood's "dry wit". She said she was a fan of his movies, though she couldn't name a single one.

It took some coaxing from the crowd, but Eastwood finally led the delegates in declaring "Make my day" – the signature line of the gun-slinging detective he played in the Dirty Harry movies.

Eastwood was reluctantly drawn into the 2012 campaign earlier this year when an ad by Chrysler, titled Halftime in America and narrated by Eastwood, ran during halftime of the Super Bowl.

Many people saw it as Eastwood promoting, and possibly endorsing, the Democratic president because Chrysler had received a government bailout.

Eastwood, who backed Republican John McCain's unsuccessful 2008 presidential bid, flatly denied that, saying at the time that he was "certainly not politically affiliated with Mr Obama".

Eastwood, a long-time Republican, has himself dabbled in politics. He served as mayor of his small upscale hometown, Carmel, California, in the 1980s.

Convention organisers preparing for the final night of the carefully scripted event had fuelled buzz about a celebrity mystery speaker by leaving a spot open on the official programme.

Despite Eastwood's Republican affiliation, many of his views differ with the party. Though he has described himself as a fiscal conservative, he backs gay marriage, favours gun control and abortion rights and supports environmental causes.

That may reinforce some conservatives' suspicions that Romney is himself insufficiently conservative. – Reuters

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Bullvein said:

I guess people only see what they want to see, millions watched the Lonmin videos and there seems to be more than millions of differing opinions on what really happened there.

I personally don't see a train wreck.
I see an aging actor and entertainer using an empty chair as a prop device to depict Obama and his administration as, well, vacant seats.
Maybe you missed all the subtle and some not so subtle jabs and references to the current American administrations failures and foibles which I thought he did quite well, although a bit slow, my guess is the slowness was so that the liberal minded would have time to process the information, was obviously not slow enough.

The guy is getting on in years but in my opinion he still has a lot going on upstairs and still knows how to act and entertain, but then like I already said, people really only see what they want to see, so I'll just leave it there.

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Zyzzyva said:

I find it quite disrespectful really to hammer an extremely old dude clearly getting on in years.

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Zyzzyva said:

I find it quite disrespectful really to hammer an extremely old dude clearly getting on in years. The delivery might not have been perfect, but it certainly wasn't a train wreck.

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ghoti said:

So old people are above criticism? If he doesnt want the public attention he should have spoken at the public convention. If you are going to play the game you better know the rules. Just because someone is old doesnt mean they deserve instant respect and are not allowed to be criticized.

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ghoti said:

Lol.. its clear that Republican supporters have low standards (theyre not smart enough to be any other way). Lets hope the next generation is smarter than this current generation (which is literally dying out The sooner the better for the world.

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zippy said:

Significant that Arnie wasnt there.

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porchrat said:

I don't think old people are necessarily above criticism but a little understanding when it comes to the failing of an ageing mind would be nice.

Sort of feels like laughing at an Alzheimer's sufferer when he can't remember where he left his keys or the name of his daughter to me. I'm not really that into American politics and I realise ghoti that you are pretty into it but this attack on an octogenarian for being a little befuddled is something I thought was beneath you. For shame.

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Techne said:

Lol, look at all the poo-flinging at those poor Republican goons.
http://mybroadband.co.za/vb/showthread.php/460869-More-classiness-from-the-Republican-Party-voters
http://mybroadband.co.za/vb/showthr...3-lies-in-30-weeks-Steve-Benen-documents-them
http://mybroadband.co.za/vb/showthr...h-Built-On-Demonstrably-Misleading-Assertions
http://mybroadband.co.za/vb/showthread.php/460483-Scientologists-for-Ron-Paul

I suppose one has to do a lot of negative marketing in an attempt to polish your own turd. It looks like the Dems are actually very good at polishing their turd by flinging poo at the opposition. Classy...

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Randhir said:

Documenting a candidate's 533 lies in 30 weeks is poo-flinging?

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ponder said:

He'll be back.

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Techne said:

"Our side lies, but look, the other side lies too". Yep, looks like poo-flinging and negative turd polishing (i.e. other people's poo smells more than ours)...

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ghoti said:

He is pushing a political agenda at a political conference. If you cant stand the heat, get out of the fire. This is politics. Not Uncle Pauls happy farm household.

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Randhir said:

533 lies in 30 weeks is not report-worthy to you? Really?

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