Friday, August 31, 2012

Go Ahead, Make My Day.

Clint Eastwood spoke to the Republican National Convention using an unheard of style: satire.



For those who feel that Chris Rock is an elder statesman of comedy or who may not appreciate the use of satire or comedians being clever rather than crude, here is a history lesson: Bob Newhart from his early days.

33 comments:

  1. You mean some people didn't get that? Of course, I didn't read any of the lefty smears after last night's convention speeches (athough I did see what Ebert said about Clint on the Drudge headline, what a putz). I thought Clint was great, he started out a little shaky - he's 82 after all - but then came into his own. Kudos to him for doing it and not giving a damn about Hollywood's reaction (and judging by Ebert, it came swift and furious).

    The "compassionate" libs sure do hate anyone disagreeing with them...

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  2. I found Eastwood to be utterly pathetic. And I have seen most of his work (High Plains Drifter thrice)- I'm a fan. Significantly, the polls I've seen have not shown Romney getting the "Convention bounce". This is NOT GOOD! The GOP resembles the mastodon that willingly meanders into the tar pit... how tough can it be with a billion dollar budget to find one accomplished, conservative Yank- and get him/her elected?

    Now, Newhart? Erudite, clever, thinking comedy for the ages. As good as anything the Brits have ever produced. Sir Walter Raleigh. The Gladys L. Smith Airline and Screen Door Company. THE BUS DRIVER INSTRUCTOR!!! I'm chuckling at the thought.

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  3. Oh, that was masterful - he knew EXACTLY what he was doing. Love it!

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  4. Earl, the polls won't really reflect the bounce (if any) until tomorrow at the earliet since there is a 3-day lag time between an event and the polls (not to mention that we have a 3-day weekend coming up). Last Tuesday didn't have any significant speakers to merit a bounce, the polls will reflect reactions to the ticket.

    You really thought Clint was pathetic? That's sad. I thought he did great for his age and giving a spontaneous talk; everyone else was closely scripted. But, if we all agreed, we'd have nothing to talk about.

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  5. flo:

    Agreed- and not to worry, I'll definitely be watching the results minutely.

    "I thought he did great for his age". Therein lies the rub. There's a billion dollar campaign being waged, and countless thousands of volunteers involved. The stakes are high, to use a cliche.

    I've worked in and run many campaigns over the past 35 years and, let me tell you- whilst scripted is repellant, one wants to know with a considerable degree of certainty what is coming out of the campaign and into the media. Here, the risk was an octagenarian folk-hero would be ripped to shreds for the slightest mis-step by the vicious leftist MSM. And, lo-and-behold, the entirely-expected occurred.

    Coupled with Todd Akin, Ryan's lack of "hard" economic and fiscal plans and Romney's natural aloofness and RINO-ism, it suggests Obama still has breathing room. This is not good for America, Canada or Israel...

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    1. I didn't think we could disagree so entirely on anything. Your line about "scripted campaigns being repellent" is correct, and....that is the key to it all.

      First, Eastwood's "performance" was effective....proof? We're all still talking about it and the progressives are still whining.

      "For his age"...you are missing something: perhaps half of the Republican voters, people who will actually get their ass to the polls, are near or over 50 years of age and will identify more with Eastwood's age than their smart ass kids age. Damn, man I am 70, now who do you think I might identify with, Clint Eastwood, or maybe someone like smarmy 40ish Cenk Uygur on Al Gore's loser channel?

      Amazing that Obama's Twitter Dweeb was turned loose to respond in Obama's name, the POTUS, to remarks by an octogenarian actor from Hollywood at the RNC that they are otherwise playing as doddering and foolish? How many tweets do you think the average Hollywood "old doddering" Democratic actor gets from the Jug Eafred Messiah?

      Corollary impact is that Eastwood's performance drew enough attention that it ameliorates the tendency of politicians to be all about I I I, me me me, etc...the take away is now that the RNC convention was not "all about Romney adulation" ...whoa, I didn't think politician's could actually pull that off. As a former registered Democrat who turned away in revulsion from the narcissistic Gore and lying fraud Kerry before Obama outdid them both, I'm stunned.

      The "ripping apart" by leftist MSM is self-defeating for them, not the Republicans....personally I believe the "doddering" part was planned...let's see next month when Eastwood's next movie hits the big screens. Still doddering? He will "play" and old man and can do it because he is an old man (as he did in Gran Torino)...that doesn't equal doddering.

      My admiration, personally, for Eastwood has a lot to do with the movies he made that aren't action flicks, but character flicks, such as "Bronco Billy" and "Bird"...about Charlie Parker, the Jazz legend. "But I know what you're thinking" ... is memorable only as kitsch.

      I'll acknowledge that Akin was a silly gift to the Democrats...one they easily understand, too...considering how many of their own office holders and candidates are gaffe prone and idiotic. Note that few if any Republicans are defending Akin. He's like Sharron Angle...the gift that re-elected Harry Reid.

      Lack of Ryan's "hard" plans? Ryan's plans may be less detailed for the moment, but at least he proposed a budget in an environment where the opposition party has not done so in 4 years of holding office, even the two they had majorities in both houses. Budgets are plans. The key to how threatening the Democrats think Ryan's plans are is demonstrated by the lies they tell: push granny off a cliff, eh?....when Ryan's plan doesn't change Medicare one whit for anyone 55 or over? Obama's plan impacts Medicare right now, plain and simple, for everyone on it(like me who has no choice) or to be on it, it takes away $700 Billion up front....from where, from the supplemental part, the part anyone over 65 today must have to avoid financial ruin. Further, by 2018, Obamacare penalizes (taxes per sissy boy Justice Roberts)anyone who still has (and pays for) what they call a "Cadillac Plan" by 40% of the premiums.

      Romney's RINO tendencies in the past bothered me, as I've said often previously, but his addition of Ryan as VP helps me deal with that. If Obama should eke out this election it will be because America has been taken over by those who want something for nothing, who have no skills and want none...except to squat and occupy:

      imgw:"http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y128/aridog/Occuturds.jpg"



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    2. I meant to say Republican and Independent voters near or over 50 comprise a large majority of those voters who will actually vote.

      At my own polling place, in a neighborhood full of younger couples, I have NEVER seen a voter that looked like they were under 40.

      If the young do come out and vote, something tells me they will vote self interest, as in jobs, etc., and not be beguiled by old fart Democrats trying to be hip and cool.

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    3. Now if catastrophe strikes, and Obama remains in office, I'll be seriously looking for a very remote cabin in the wooded mountains somewhere in Montana or Alberta, near as I could afford to Lake Louise. From my perspective, the rest of Canada & the coastal US has already outdone the flyover US in weirdness.

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    4. Well, you're missing something as well, Aridog. I said "for his age" because he DID stumble around a bit and lose his train of thought. He's 82. I'll be 60 in 6 months so yes, I actually relate to him as well. Both in his forgetfulness and his passion.

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    5. Florie...although I think his "stumbling" was contrived, it is none the less a feature of age, not a flaw. We'll soon be able to tell when his new movie ("Trouble with the Curve") is out, if he stumbles and mumbles his lines uncontrollably. A link to a Trailer of it is here. You tell me...is it the same guy?

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    6. That's what I meant, an age thing, not a flaw. Oh yes, I had seen that trailer before, it looks great.

      Well, perhaps I just didn't pick up on that part being intentional. I hope that's it. I think there's a difference in playing a character and giving a speech as a private citizen. But I feel better about the whole thing if that was just part of his speech. I hate to see my heroes slowing down and I've always loved Clint Eastwood.

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    7. flo I think you had it right the first time. Sorry Ari, I don't buy that Eastwood's lack of fluidity was "contrived".

      Actually what I think was that he underestimated just how nervous he'd be. He struck me as a little un-prepared _mentally_ for being up there on stage.

      Just because you're a movie actor doesn't make you an awesome public speaker (as anyone who's watched the Oscars knows).

      That, combined with age, robbed him of a bit of flow.

      But to Earl's point - what truly worked about the speech was that really, it was pretty nasty. It obviously did get inside Obama's head. POTUS has complained that the opposition talks about him like a dog. Clint really kinda roughed him up.

      I don't say it like it's a bad thing. POTUS/TOTUS has it coming. His own "I'm such a nice guy / stick a fork in everyone" routine is one I'm sick of. He's prickly; get inside his head and piss him off. Vulnerabilities get exploited; this is politics, deal with it. (And don't complain too much when they exploit Romney's either; it's going to happen.)

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    8. We can debate Eastwood's delivery all we want. What actually COUNTS is the impact. Here we are, along with countless whiny Democrat piss ants as well, STILL talking about it.

      Enough said.

      imgw:"http://24.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m9mk020ARD1r9t0f2o1_500.jpg"

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  6. "I've worked in and run many campaigns over the past 35 years and, let me tell you- whilst scripted is repellant, one wants to know with a considerable degree of certainty what is coming out of the campaign and into the media. Here, the risk was an octagenarian folk-hero would be ripped to shreds for the slightest mis-step by the vicious leftist MSM. And, lo-and-behold, the entirely-expected occurred."

    Very good point. I just don't think it's as dire as you suggest; both sides are going to make blunders that will be instantly exploited by their opponents. Biden is sure to lead the pack in this regard.

    As to Akin, doofus though he is, the first accurate polling after his remark had McCaskill up 10 pts. Now he is behind 1 point.

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  7. Earl, I understand the necessity of keeping certain appearances and messaging, but my impression of Eastwood's performance (even before I read Mark Steyn's column) was that he was acting a very deliberate, carefully thought out part. To me, the giveaway was the strength with which the zingers were delivered. He got under their skin in a big way if Obama's tweet is any indicator.

    The MSM is going to howl; the beauty is that they're howling about an icon, not the nominee. That's a win.

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  8. I didn't know you had worked as a campaign consultant, Earl. No wonder you're so hooked on politics!!

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  9. You know, no matter what a copnservative says it will be ripped to shreds by the main-stream liars. As Rush says, quit worrying about it.

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  10. I don't know how the left can get their panties in a wad over Eastwood when they've got Biden drooling all over the place and playing with his mashed potatoes.

    I thought Clint was brilliant, but I can certainly understand your observations Earl. Maybe I'm reading this wrong, but I'm sensing a shift beneath my feet. Obama & jesters are so utterly pathetic and inept, and the media coverage so over-the-top laughable, that voters are fed up.

    Since I live on the AR/MO border, I'm watching the Akin thang very closely. It astounds me that he's running neck and neck with McCaskill. He's a total yo-yo, but I actually believe he might win. Why? IMO, people are disgusted to the point of voting for a day-old ham sandwich rather than be faced with four more years of this insanity.

    Even Hillary is jumping ship. I'm not really buying that she has important SecState bidniz to conduct in the Cook Islands during Barry's convention flop. The Cook Islands? Really, Hill? :))

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    1. Lady Red, if Eastwood's performance brought nothing to the fore in people's minds other than to remind them of the facts that we do NOT have to shut up, the country belongs to US, Obama has NOT kept his promises and we CAN fire him for not doing the job, well, mission accomplished. The video of it is viral. I loved the suggestion I read somewhere that instead of campaign signs, people should just put an empty chair on their lawn. This is not going away.

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  11. OT ...couldn'r resist posting it.

    imgw:"http://thepeoplescube.com/red/gallery/supercommissar-maksim-a34/man-child-obama-tpc-i2910.jpg"

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  12. Earl, you have worked on many campaigns, and are accustomed to the carefully scripted words from professional politicians.

    I have been in a number of plays, live on stage, and am used to ad libs and acting.

    I am sure that most (if not all) political pros were horrified by Clint's perforamnce, but, we who play or watch live acting were amazed at just how much he was able to pack into a 12 minute monologue, talking to an empty chair, and a darkened teleprompter.

    Of COURSE the self-appointed cleminoles of the professional media were frightened and/or enraged by his delivery. But that was mainly (if not completely) because they were unable to flap it into their completely left-wing view of life.

    Trust me, those who live normal daily lives, and are not a part of the political establishment, LOVED Clint's mash-up of Bob Newhart and Elwood P. Dowd.

    This MIGHT, if the left is so stupid as to continue to harp on it, be the deciding 'speech' of campaign 2012.

    And now, if you will all excuse me, I am going to go watch 'Harvey' (my number 1 all-time movie) in pieces on Youtube.

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  13. On the topic of the convention in general - I have to say I like Jeff Goldstein's comments quite a bit.

    I'm not a fan of the establishment Republican party. Romney is nothing if not their creature. Ryan is awesome, but he's been in DC since he was 28, he's a politician, and his lips move. Just sayin'.

    If Romney gets elected, it's entirely possible that nothing much will change. If his mission becomes nothing more than making the status quo and the establishment power structure safe for people with "(R)" following their name I won't be totally surprised.

    I'll vote for Romney, and I think he's a good person, but I'm not a fan. To be fair, I'd put myself on meds if I became a fanboi of _any_ national level politician.

    I'm afraid that "muddle through" will be his strategy and that in 4 years we'll still have insane deficits, a money printing Fed in denial about food and energy inflation, a crappy economy, entrenched cartels of every description viciously fighting over slices of a shrinking pie. The only class of people for whom things will be much better is establishment Republicans: appointees, lobbyists, etc.

    Hoping I'm wrong - it's not an argument I'm hankering to take up with anyone here, just a caution that the job almost certainly won't be finished if Romney's elected.

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    1. Yeah, maybe Romney is an establishment Republican, but he isn't an anti-American let-me-bow-down-before-every-tyrant-in-the-world-while-telling-our-friends-to-fuck-themselves disaster that Obama is.

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    2. @RMM: And that is the most viable reason for voting GOP in '12. Ryan has never had a real job, and the reality of cutting the military and social entitlements is going to run into domestic realpolitik. Romney's record in MA suggests a centrist pragmatist. But Obama's dangerous naivete (malice aforethought?) in FP has set up America for terminal decline in international influence- a situation which would have horrific long term consequences.

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    5. There is no question in my mind that when Romney is elected that the job will not be finished. It will have scarcely begun.

      It very well may be all we CAN get, all we can dare expect...a slowing of the decline now underway. I am not positive that such radical reversal back to a more simplified government is possible today...but I hope. Down the road, the alternative is violent revolution....it will begin when the occupy type mentality folks....
      imgw:"http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y128/aridog/Occuturds.jpg"
      ...run out of places to "occupy" and other peoples' proceeds of work to scavenge. At that point they will have to be shot like vermin, literally. Even in a collectivist system, total non-producers must be eliminated.

      So yeah, Obama is heading us toward the violence apace and anyone to the right of his ineffectual Communist ass is an improvement...and that is where we are today. Romney is an improvement...he, at least, doesn't believe there is something in nothing.

      Can he cut into the lard of the institutionalized aparatchiks? Those who make rules, enforced like laws, but provide no actual service or product? The political cost of ripping out appointees and unnecessary senior civil servants, including bloated congressional staffs, wholesale is huge, because they ARE the bulk of government bureaucracy now...I'm not sure Romney could survive it if he tries it. He will require a supportive and aggressive Congress if he is to succeed. We can hope. Do we dare?

      Technology has made such huge strides that governance should require far less people...but it none-the-less it has increased the people. Power seeking, not efficiency is why. WHY does the populace/electorate NOT realize this? In my own little part of it all back in my day, we cut our office & labor staff by 70% over 10 years due to technological advances... like fools, I guess, as we watched others double down and add useless positions. In the end, we did lose *power* within the infrastructure. Oh, I kept my personal power, and no one messed with our remaining staff, but only when I was watching and ready to challenge threats ... and I earned hatred, literally, in some places. How dare we....!!!

      Government per se is a living beast, trust me, it seeks primarily to grow and feed itself. The real civil servants are the exception. What service the senior sector might provide is incidental to the control of it the populace retains. It can only be managed by an aware and aggressive constituency. Two things that must happen now: 1.) gut the bureaucracy of lard, and 2.) elect a Congress that will act like a Congress and retake its authority, which is now nearly gone...from an ineffective group who plays double dog dare you as each financial crisis approaches, now down to within months, not years...soon it will be days. Even the SCOTUS has been emasculated by the power of the rising bureaucracy....it knows no ruling not favored by the elite will be enforced, so they now *find* only to survive.

      I.Kid.You.Not.One.Bit. Been there, done that, got the raggedy tee shirt. Some time ago now, over a decade, I recall a whistle blowing incident that embarrassed some senior managers. It shouldn't have caused much of a stir otherwise. BUT...it did, and I/we watched the bureaucracy react in a rage like a grizzly kicked in the balls by a little goat. I'm very glad the little goat spoke from a pseudonym identity.

      My ill ease with Romney as a RINO initially was stated often early on, but now he is the nominee and the choice is stark. Recall me saying that in Michigan the difference between Democrat & Republican is usually the avatar they choose...otherwise same policies. If we are to succeed we all will have to pay attention, apply pressure, and not just drop out and back to inattentiveness.

      It is as much a challenge to all of us in the electorate as it is to a conservative winner. Are WE up to that challenge?

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    6. Good post aridog. I sure as hell HOPE we're up to the challenge. Each of us, as individuals, will have to plant our feet firmer, get louder, and not use "compromise" as a tool to reason or sane governance.

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  14. BTW, did anyone else see the hilarious article posted on Drudge about Mt. Obama melting away? You just can't make this stuff up!

    lewy, I know Romney is an entrenched Republican but I think that if he doesn't do his best to follow through on his promises that there will be a hue and cry from us average voters that will be scary. Seriously. I have some hope because the convention did highlight so many of the younger pols who are actually making a difference in their state: Martinez, Walker, Kasich, Christie. So the establishment do-nothing repubs better deliver - especially if they gain the Senate as well.

    And like Matt said, at least Romney won't continue to take us down the same road that Obama has got us on.

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  15. We're going to see 2016 today. Movie date! Noah and I are both looking forward to a big bucket of popcorn, icky syrupy soda pop, and a great documentary. :D

    I'm curious how big the crowds will be, especially for the 1:00 showing. Kids? Older people like us? I'll let you know!

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    1. Wow. This is a VERY well done documentary. I hope and pray they release it to pay-per-view/DVD before the election; everyone needs to see it.

      The theater was packed to the rafters. It was mostly retired people...a sea of silver hair, with a few dozen young people, two nuns in full habit (!), and even one of my nursing instructors (!!).

      Five stars. I now understand things I've been puzzling over for quite some time.

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    1. We're participating. We have an old decrepit lawn chair that we're putting at the top of our drive. :))

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