Fifteen years ago the Bee Gees made the song “Tragedy”.
Clint Eastwood was 67 years old then. The Bee Gees didn’t have Clint in mind when they made that song. Mitt Romney was 50 years old and still at Bain Capitol. If the Bee Gees made the song “Tragedy” with Mitt in mind, it might have been due to the number of companies Bain took into bankruptcy. It was tragic when he raided the coffers of some companies to pay executive bonuses, even though millions were owed to the government. The result was that all the creditors were screwed, including the government. Maybe the Bee Gees were thinking about the number of jobs that were eliminated in the United States and diverted to foreign countries. Even members of the GOP have attacked Mitt Romney for the devastation he inflicted on American economy through loss of thousands of jobs.
Equally tragic was the appearance of Clint Eastwood at the Republican Convention. It was a tragedy for Clint, and for Mitt Romney. Clint looked old, and almost senile. His speech was rambling and at times he seemed to have forgotten not only his words, but his thoughts. In contrast to Mitt Romney’s perfectly styled hair, Clint looked disheveled. Mitt is 62. Eastwood is 82. Clint has had an amazing career, and even in his later years, he has made and directed amazing movies. Here are just a few of his more memorable quotes:
Here is his speech last night:
The speech was hard to understand, and at times confusing. For example Clint said:
“ But I just think that there is so much to be done, and I think that Mr. Romney and Mr. Ryan are two guys that can come along. See, I never thought it was a good idea for attorneys to the president, anyway.
XXX I think attorneys are so busy — you know they’re always taught to argue everything, always weigh everything, weigh both sides.”
Did he not know that Romney is an attorney, or did he just forget?
When I heard that Eastwood was to be the “surprise” guest at the RNC, I was confused. He is known more as a libertarian. He is pro-choice and he supports gay marriage. Moreover his “half-time” in America that aired during the Super Bowl, seemed to bring attention to the success of the auto bailout, and the reference to “half-time” suggested Obama was only half-way through fixing the American economy.
If the GOP had told Clint to appear, waive, and say “vote for Mitt” they would have scored big points for their cause. As it is his appearance was a tragic display of the decline of an American icon. Instead of the media focusing on the performance of Mitt Romney at the convention everyone is talking about Clint Eastwood. Not only was it a sad day for Clint, but it was a sad day for the Romney campaign. The Romney campaign looked foolish for not controlling Clint in his performance. He was scheduled to talk for around 5 minutes, not 12. The empty chair was ineffective. Because his speech was convoluted and hard to understand, two weeks from today, I’ll better remember what he said in the Super Bowl commercial than his words at the RNC.





20 comments
Comments feed for this article
August 31, 2012 at 10:14 am
Dis Gusted
Altho’ Willard attended a law school, he did not study law. He majored in liberal arts and business. He never took the bar exam. NOT a lawyer.
August 31, 2012 at 11:10 am
malialitman
Dis Gusted,
i did not know that, thanks for the clarification.
August 31, 2012 at 11:19 am
Dis Gusted
oops – I was wrong – according to Wiki (which is often wrong) Romney sat for the bar exam in his home state of Michigan in July 1975, passed it and was admitted to practice law there, but never worked as a lawyer and only considered in case his business career did not work out.
wiki got this info from a book written by Kranish; Helman, The Real Romney, p. 97.
so if he IS a non-practicing attorney, then Clint has truly gone over the edge
August 31, 2012 at 11:27 am
malialitman
Dis Gusted,
And even if he never practiced, we know he went to harvard law school, so why would you even mention this?
August 31, 2012 at 10:39 am
phoebes-in-santa fe
Even weirder than Eastwood’s speech is that the Republican powers evidently put him on in primetime without first vetting his speech. Political malpractice…
August 31, 2012 at 10:52 am
idcsys
Malia,
Clint is old, he’s white and he was dissing the black guy. What more does he need in the way of GOP credentials?
August 31, 2012 at 11:03 am
molly malone
I don’t know which was more cringe-worthy, Ryan’s factually-challenged pie in the sky speech or Eastwood’s incoherent debate with a chair, Both left me feeling as if I’d clicked on a movie with serious script problems.
Sad, really. About Clint, I mean.
August 31, 2012 at 11:27 am
malialitman
molly,
I was sad too!
August 31, 2012 at 2:57 pm
crystalwolf (@krystalwolfgrl)
I think Clint has Alzheimers. My dad had it and he could be good one day and out of it the next. I expect a statement will be released…soon from his family that he is suffering from a undisclosed illness. The R’s are trying to spin it as “Funny” and off the cuff remarks, when in reality he went off the fricken’ rails.
I do think they were really trying to get him to “shut up” too. They tried to spin that like it was part of the “act” but the
horrified looks from the Romney camp said it all.
August 31, 2012 at 5:38 pm
malialitman
crystalwolf,
i watched the commentators afterward on CNN and they reported that people with the Romney campaign were trying to signal him to stop!
August 31, 2012 at 11:38 am
Kallie
I love the response tweet/pic from the Obama camp…This seat is taken!
Great response, I can wait to see the Democratic National Convention.
August 31, 2012 at 6:01 pm
malialitman
Kallie,
me too, and maybe they will have two “surprise’ guests. One jon Stewart, and two Stephen Colbert, in a chair.
August 31, 2012 at 12:01 pm
MissSunshine
Oh dear. I am sorry Clint Eastwood was put on stage to deliver that rambling, embarrassing mess. I have a lot of respect for Mr. Eastwood, and that speech was not his finest hour. “Old white man vs. empty chair.”
On to Mittens. For goodness sake, that man has been running for president since 2006. An “adequate” speech is the best he can do? (Shakes head)
Tampa was a carefully staged event. I don’t believe Romney has ever been in a fight that the cards weren’t stacked heavily in his favor. Now it is Obama’s turn.
I am going to predict, that much like when SP took the stage in 2008, we have seen Romney at his shining best. When TeamObama comes out swinging, Romney’s lies and trickery will look pretty shabby, and Mittens will be put in his place. Amen.
August 31, 2012 at 6:00 pm
malialitman
miss Sunshine,
i am looking forward to that very thing next week.
August 31, 2012 at 12:55 pm
Millie
I could not watch Clint Eastwood but for a few minutes. I was so embarrassed for him and wondered why on earth Mittens group had him do such a show.
I was also appalled that he referred to our President as Mr. Obama!
I would never vote for Romney and Ryan as they scare the hell out of me. How do you ‘make someone over’ from what they’ve been for years and the horrible record that they hold? Do they really think Americans are that stupid? I don’t think the majority women’s vote will move to them from Obama/Biden either – Ryan has to much baggage as to abortion, etc.
August 31, 2012 at 5:52 pm
malialitman
millie,
i hope and think you are right. i don’t think paul ryan or romney came close to addressing the real issues women care about.
August 31, 2012 at 1:17 pm
Dis Gusted
sorry Malia – I was not trying to argue – Harvard’s joint law and business school degree program was brand new at the time.
August 31, 2012 at 5:50 pm
malialitman
Dis Gusted,
i’m always game for the truth, so no offense taken. Every day that i publish an article i realize that i may not have gotten everything right, and I appreciate when people like you alert me to an error! thanks, malia
August 31, 2012 at 1:24 pm
abbafan
Hello Malia! A small correction if I may add – if I’m not mistaken, “Tragedy” was released in 1979, not 1997. That’s when “Any Which Way But Loose” came out, featuring Clyde the orangutan (“Right Turn Clyde”). Yes, how sad it is that Mr. Eastwood made a spectacle of himself to appease RMoney & Co. So sad.
September 1, 2012 at 8:58 am
aj weishar
Dis Gusted, Malia, here’s some help with the law degree. There are business and law enforcement people who see the law degree as a necessary part of their careers. My dad was a CPA, but realized he needed more depth in the laws related to finance and business. Many FBI agents and employees have law degrees. Working for Bain, you really need to understand bankruptcy laws, so you can shift money before claiming a loss.
If you are wealthy, knowing the loopholes in our tax code (laws) can make you extremely wealthy. Romney’s IRA is an excellent example. We’re limited to a couple thousand a year. He used the tax code to dump hundreds of thousands into one and avoid the income tax on the money.