Marco Rubio has proven himself to the country to be a terrific speaker and thinker the past two years as the nation has gotten to know more and more about him. He didn’t disappoint again last night.
Mitt Romney has been somewhat of a dichotomy (at least to me) the past few years. But he gave a very good speech last night and showed that he is more of what he was described as by those speakers preceding the final three, than many of us ever knew him to be.
But, Clint Eastwood seems to be one of the big stories today. Eastwood has been a movie star for all of my life. From the character Rowdy Yates on Rawhide, to the cowboy with the flat brimmed hat and the cigar in his mouth, to Dirty Harry and his best known line of “make my day”. Eastwood is now 82 years old.
His one foray into politics was for two years as Mayor of Carmel-by-the –Sea, California, and was appointed by Governor Gray Davis to oversee the parks and recreation department. He’s a registered Republican but has supported some liberal causes as well as liberal candidates in addition to Republicans and Conservatives.
Last winter, he narrated an ad for Chrysler during the Super Bowl saying it was halftime in America. That was February 2012. Six months later, he spoke at the Republican National Convention. A lighthearted talk, a bit comedic but in typical Eastwood style with a straightforward, short message.
Many thought it was a message indicating that the bailout was a success of President Barack Obama and encouraged by the Obama Administration. People were up in arms, if they were Republican or Conservative, but Democrats and liberals were happy with it.
Below is a story that appeared in the LA Times on February 8, 2012. It’s more of an editorial than a “report”. I put a couple of cuts from the story below the url.
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February 8, 2012
http://www.latimes.com/news/politics/topoftheticket/la-na-tt-eastwood-rove-20120207,0,4416240.story
Apparently the bulb-headed Pillsbury Doughboy of the political right thinks he’s man enough to pick a fight with America’s most virile octogenarian. Go ahead, Karl, make his day.
Then again, anyone who picks a fight with Clint Eastwood can't be that smart.
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“Anyone that picks a fight with Clint Eastwood can’t be that smart.” If you believe that Clint Eastwood is the various characters from his movies, then I’d have to agree with that statement. But then, Eastwood is an actor. He says lines written by others in his movies.
Eastwood is an advocate for staying healthy. He is a non-smoker. Yet he smokes those cigars in some of his movies. Do we really believe he rides around in a pick up truck with a monkey that punches the bikers when Eastwood says “right turn Clyde” as he does in the movie “Every which way but loose”?
But now Eastwood is at the Republican National Convention. He ad libbed his remarks last night. Some light comedy on his part when talking to an empty chair representing Obama.
How did the same LA Times feel about it? We do have to say feel because once again, it’s opinion and not reporting.
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http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/tv/showtracker/la-et-st-critics-notebook-republican-national-convention-20120831,0,7934066.story
By Mary McNamara, Los Angeles Times
August 31, 2012,
After six years, Mitt Romney is finally the Republican presidential nominee, but the man everyone's talking about is Clint Eastwood — who has apparently lost his mind.
Rambling so often that it appeared at least twice we had lost him, Eastwood studded his remarks with asides to an empty chair. "What? What do you want me to tell Romney? I can't tell him to do that," he said at one point. "He can't do that to himself."
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So we have the same paper, saying on one hand “Anyone that picks a fight with Clint Eastwood can’t be that smart.” Then saying on the other hand, “Clint Eastwood — who has apparently lost his mind.”
Eastwood, in his usual style, whether it’s because of how he is or has it written for him did say something between the comedy he gave. “I would just like to say something, ladies and gentlemen. Something that I think is very important. It is that, you, we
-- we own this country. We -- we own it. It is not you owning it, and not
politicians owning it. Politicians are employees of ours. And -- so -- they are just going to come around and beg for votes every few years. It is the same old deal. But I just
think it is important that you realize , that you're the best in the world. Whether you are a Democrat or Republican or whether you're libertarian or whatever, you are the best. And we should not ever forget that. And when somebody does not do the job, we got to let them go.”
When it comes to the LA Times, or Karl Rove or anyone else complaining about Eastwood’s performance in an ad, or an ad lib, one side is going to like, the other isn’t, but there is a line from yet another Clint Eastwood movie that seems to fit. It comes from “The Gauntlet.” The line is “Nag, nag, nag.”
You’re welcome to comment.
Brett
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