Eastwood's speech last night

[Reservoir Dog]

Aside from a couple of good lines, I cringed through most of his speech. I love Clint Eastwood. He is a great actor/director, but he is not a good speaker. Earlier in the day, a guy on Fox News commented that they were going to allot 5 minutes for Eastwood to speak, and that was about 4 minutes and 30 seconds longer than needed.

[Guest 6.8 AR]

I'm not really sure I understand some

of the criticism. Regardless of his

social standings on some of the

platform positions, He did a great job

of making the most important point,

that politicians are our employees and

that Obama needs to be replaced.

What damned difference does it make

if he is old and isn't a well polished

speaker? It actually adds credibility

to his remarks. No teleprompter and

no perfectly scored speech. Just a well

known human being doing something

great: saying what's on his mind with

a comic shtick.

Maybe his makeup artist displeased

some, also. Confusing me, you guys.

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[subsonic]

Some interesting perspectives n Eastwoods non scripted, teleprompter free, rumpled performance:

http://hotair.com/headlines/archives/2012/08/31/play-clinty-for-me/

http://hotair.com/archives/2012/09/01/new-florida-poll-shows-vindication-of-eastwood-strategy/

[Links2k]

Mr Eastwood made some good points, but the speech was like having to listen to the drunk uncle after thanksgiving dinner. Most minds are already made up. These democrat and GOP conventions are nothing but prep rallies for the party faithful and more waste of money.

Both candidates need to talk specifics and stop the b.s. generalizations and finger pointing. By now everyone knows what both candidates weaknesses are. We know that Romney is a flip flopper and by all accounts here the lying king is a commie hell bent on destroying America. Now, We need to hear their real plans for the future.

[Guest 6.8 AR]

I think he intended to sound that way,

Links.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[plank white]

[gregintenn]

If Christopher Walken were having a conversation with an empty chair, I'd think nothing of it. It seemed out of character for Clint.

[Oh Shoot]

His speech would have been a lot better on day ne or two.

I don't think that is technically correct. He has a JD, and passed the bar, but never practiced.

Being licensed in a state to practice law doesn't make one a bricklayer.

And certainly he used his legal expertise in MA throughout his business career, even if he couldn't technically "practice" there.

I'd opine that being a lawyer is as much about training and point of view as it is about handling individual cases, but perhaps it's splitting hairs either way.

- OS

Edited September 1, 2012 by OhShoot

[BigK]

I had the misfortune of being a know-it-all teenager when most of my elders passed. I missed out on most of their wisdom when I needed it the most.

I found listening to Mr. Eastwood entertaining and enlightening. Sure it had it's moments that were uncomfortable, but not every spoonful of soup has a piece of meat in it.

[Guest HvyMtl]

Hmm. I remember a lot of Republicans griping about Actors being listened to in politics.

Then they get a an 82 year old actor, who looked like he needed someone to come his hair, to come out and fire up the GOP base. Um. I guess they were not gunning for the under 50 crowd.

He seemed a bit off of his game. Ad libbed. Went for the low comedy.

Worse, he overshadowed Romney. Worse still, he became the center of attention. Even worse still, he became the talking point for the Convention. And was widely mocked for his speech. I guess you all missed the strained looks of the candidates and family when Eastwood went off script. Wish I could find the quote from the Convention organizer, stating he had no idea Eastwood was going to use the chair as a prop.

Edited September 2, 2012 by HvyMtl

[quietguy]

Being licensed in a state to practice law doesn't make one a bricklayer.

And certainly he used his legal expertise in MA throughout his business career, even if he couldn't technically "practice" there.

I'd opine that being a lawyer is as much about training and point of view as it is about handling individual cases, but perhaps it's splitting hairs either way.

- OS

I did say technically. Lawyers/attorneys get all bent out of shape about who can be included in their ranks, and I doubt Mitt would fit the bill. No better than your bricklayer in their eyes.

[Guest HvyMtl]

As an old Law Professor I know once said,"Students graduating with "A's" get to work for the high dollar firms. Students with "B's" become defense attorneys, or prosecutors. Students with "C's" typically become Judges, or work for banks. The rest become politicians."

Its not about the training. Its about who can get their argument across better. And who has the biggest pockets, to hire the best, to get the argument they want across. Kind of the same in Congress, and the Presidency, except the first two parts.

Edited September 2, 2012 by HvyMtl

[kieefer]

Good grief, I think a few on here need to get their copy of Dirty Harry out and re-visit.

Clint did a great job, I enjoyed it.

[JG55]

[mootw]

I wish more influential people would remind the general public that politicians are simply "We the People's" employees. We OWN this country and politicians of both political parties have done their best to sell it to the highest bidder. Unfortunately, one of those bidders is China. Who dreams this stuff up and then sells it to the public as a good idea? Personally, I think we should fire more employees in D.C.

P.S. Best Clint movie: The Outlaw Josey Wales.

[Hershmeister]

I thought it was brilliant. It allowed for an attack on Obama during the convention, but not from the candidates - rather a man of the people so to speak.

I an offended that the same media would attack an 82 year old man for a few halting words in the midst of telling us powerful truths - this is the same media that suffered a near vegetative and incoherent Dick Clark on us every new years eve!

Now - Get Off My Lawn!

[Guest ThePunisher]

P.S. Best Clint movie: The Outlaw Josey Wales.

My choice: The Good, Bad, and Ugly

[Steelharp]

So the Prez has come out and stated that he's a huge fan of Clint. That's good.

But the votes ain't going toward Clint.

[QuietDan]

Don't forget that "Eastwooding Inspires National Empty Chair Day on Monday."

All it takes to participate is . . . an empty chair.

http://www.breitbart.com/Big-Government/2012/09/02/Eastwooding-Inspires-National-Empty-Chair-Day-on-Monday

[Guest 6.8 AR]

I wish more influential people would remind the general public that politicians are simply "We the People's" employees. We OWN this country and politicians of both political parties have done their best to sell it to the highest bidder. Unfortunately, one of those bidders is China. Who dreams this stuff up and then sells it to the public as a good idea? Personally, I think we should fire more employees in D.C.

P.S. Best Clint movie: The Outlaw Josey Wales.

I so agree!

[kieefer]

Empty chair day and their asking for photos, that ought to be good.

Unforgiven is one of my favorites.

[gregintenn]

I wish Clint was running for president!

[Erik88]

I wish Clint was running for president!

"too old"...

[Guest ThePunisher]

So is Ron Paul..

[JG55]

Good description off what Eastwood was doing and what he hoped to accomplish.

Karl on the Eastwood Bit

Filed under: General — Patterico @ 11:52 pm

Our old friend Karl still blogs at the Green Room at Hot Air, and his latest is a strong defense of the Eastwood bit (can’t call it a speech) at the GOP convention. I hope Karl won’t mind if I quote him at length:

If you doubt that Eastwood was not simply winging it, don’t watch his performance — read the transcript. There may be no better indicator of just how intentional Eastwood’s performance is than to compare the visual impression he gave with the text delivered.

Eastwood begins with a touch of Admiral James Stockdale, but Clint answers the question of why he is there. The fact is that everyone really knows why Clint is there — to make a political statement. But Eastwood, in mentioning that Hollywood is perhaps not as monolithic as the stereotype suggests, is making a subtle suggestion to the audience he wants to reach: you may be part of some left-identifying group, but it’s okay to disagree and there may be other quiet dissenters in your group.

Eastwood then introduces the dramatic device of the empty chair, which in this context also echoes the political metaphor of the empty suit.

This has been remarked upon, particularly as an echo of comedic dialogs from people like Bob Newhart, so I won’t dwell on it here, although it reappears below.

Eastwood then proceeds to use this comedic device to deliver — as Mark Steyn noted in passing — some of the toughest political attacks on President Obama heard during the entire RNC. A number of the traditional speakers strove to play on swing voters’ disenchantment with the failed promises of Hope and Change. But notice how tired and traditional that just sounded in your head. Mitt Romney (likely with help from a professional political speechwriter) did it pretty well: “You know there’s something wrong with the kind of job he’s done as president when the best feeling you had was the day you voted for him.†But did anyone do it as powerfully and emotionally as Eastwood’s segue from everyone — himself included — crying with joy at Obama’s historic victory to the tears we now shed over 23 million still unemployed, which Clint bluntly called a national disgrace?

This was the first part of Eastwood’s simple and effective argument. Eastwood points out — in a prodding, joking manner — that Obama was elected to bring peace and prosperity, but failed to bring either. That Eastwood may disagree with the GOP on some war issues is perfectly alright in this context, because, as suggested earlier and explored further below, Eastwood is not really targeting Republicans.

Eastwood then arrives at his Joe Biden joke: “

Of course we all know Biden is the intellect of the Democratic party.

Just kind of a grin with a body behind it.†That last part is not accidental in a performance featuring an empty chair. But the first part is even more dangerous.

For the last 3+ years, we have been accustomed to having Biden as safe material for humor, while Obama has been kept off-limits.

Eastwood leverages the latter into the former, suggesting that Sheriff Joe is the real brains of the operation. Ouch! No wonder Team Obama got annoyed enough to respond.

Having delivere

d these punches regarding our dire situation with velvet gloves, Eastwood then does the softest of sells for the Romney/Ryan ticket. As Jesse Walker noted, it was almost more of a pitch for Not Obama. Again, there was nothing accidental about the nature or placement of this speech withing Clint’s imagined dialogue.

Eastwood concludes by summing up the GOP case to undecideds and rebutting the main point Dems seem to advance for Obama. First, “[p]oliticians are employees of ours… And when somebody does not do the job, we got to let ‘em go.†Second, “we don’t have to be metal [sic] masochists and vote for somebody that we don’t really even want in office just because they seem to be nice guys or maybe not so nice guys if you look at some of the recent ads going out there.â€

Eastwood was not “rambling.†He improvised within a structure, making a clear and concise case for dumping Obama.

The only part of Eastwood’s bit that I found uncomfortable was the bit about Afghanistan and the Russians. That part left me going whaaa? But in general I thought that it was about time somebody made fun of Obama in front of a national audience.

A perspicacious reader who does not wish to be named made an excellent observation. You had Ann Romney talking about love, and Chris Christie talking about how respect is more important than love. Then you had Clint Eastwood the next night. Does this make sense? Yes, it does:

Ann and Christie were the set up and Eastwood closed the deal. In other words, you can love Obama but respect is what matters, and Eastwood was there to make sure that no one respected Obama as much after he spoke as they did before.

I still think they should have done more humanizing Mitt on national TV, and maybe less of something else. But the idea that they began the important part of the campaign by making mockery of Obama fair game? Not bad, really. Not bad at all.