October 24, 2012

Clint Eastwood does a Romney ad.



"In the last few years, America's been knocked down..." It's reminiscent of Eastwood's Super Bowl ad. Remember? "This country can't be knocked out with one punch..."



Many people perceived that Super Bowl ad as implicitly pro-Obama. Here's Slate, back on February 6th:
Did the first Obama re-election ad run during the Super Bowl? You might have missed it since the president wasn't even mentioned. It was a Chrysler ad, although even that wasn’t obvious. Instead, more than 111 million viewers were greeted by that tough-talking American icon Clint Eastwood as he delivered what amounted to a locker room speech to the country. “It's halftime in America,” he intoned... He heralded the auto industry’s revival and said it is a model for a nation poised for a comeback....

[A]s everyone knows, it’s hard to argue with Clint Eastwood. “This country can't be knocked out with one punch. We get right back up again, and when we do, the world is going to hear the roar of our engines. Ya, it's halftime in America, and our second half is about to begin.” If Clint agrees with Obama—that America is on the edge of a return—how can Obama be wrong?
How? If Clint says so.

31 comments:

traditionalguy said...

Clint is one great communicator. He says it all concisely using an emotional tone perfect for the message.

Known Unknown said...

The delivery is too fast and doesn't take advantage of Clint's gravelly voice.

TWM said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
TWM said...

Clint is pro-America, not pro-Obama or pro-Romney specifically. Had Obama been worth a damn he would be supporting him now.

Clint's a smart man and not swayed by fads like most of Hollywood. People should listen to him.

Wince said...

Good point about the mixed interpretations of the Chrysler ad.

Hard to argue that Clint came to this with personal animus toward Obama.

Bob Boyd said...

The Chrysler ad was supposed to be a locker room type pep talk, not an Obama ad.
We have conflated the fortunes of our President with that of our nation. The Obama presidency has been like a reality show we are all emotionally swept up in to an unhealthy degree.

Shanna said...

The delivery is too fast and doesn't take advantage of Clint's gravelly voice.

That's what I thought too. I know they were trying to get it in 30 seconds, but they should have cut out some words.

traditionalguy said...

It's hard to fool Clint Eastwood.

Clint has been in the illusion making business for 50 years and understands its power over the audience. But he keeps a hold on reality.

Joe Biden, America's Putin said...

There are many people who love the American car. Obama didn't kill Detroit,the unions did. Obama gave it all to the unions. That doesn't remove the love some have for the American made automobile.

Unknown said...

It is sad to see the onset of senility....

bleh said...

It’s hard to argue with Clint Eastwood ... I mean, until he makes explicit his opposition to Obama, then he's clearly senile.

ricpic said...

Of course it's a lot worse than Clint says, but you don't want to say anything harsh, i.e. true about Mr.Likeable and stampede the moderates back into sweetheart's arms.

Drago said...

Lynn: "It is sad to see the onset of senility...."

I think it's wonderful that, despite your advanced state, that you retain the ability to self-diagnose.

Drago said...

Bob: "The Chrysler ad was supposed to be a locker room type pep talk, not an Obama ad."

Hilariously naive.

Known Unknown said...

Of course it's a lot worse than Clint says, but you don't want to say anything harsh, i.e. true about Mr.Likeable and stampede the moderates back into sweetheart's arms.

Actually, I love the tenor of the message ... it's certainly more palatable than a simple hard-edged attack ad

There's a similar radio spot running in Ohio with a women who shares her disillusionment and says something like "it's okay to let Barack Obama go."

The Drill SGT said...

The ad and Clint work well for Reagan Dems in the Rust belt.

It's a winner for flipping blue collar dems

Unknown said...

Ha Ha! For Slate, Clint was a giant and an icon - when they thought he was Obama. Now that he's come out for Romney - ehh, what does that doddering old fool know.

I guarantee you that's an accurate depiction of all liberals. Whereas by contrast, even if (say) Will Smith were to come out for Obama, I'd still say something like "Thanks for the endorsement. Now get out of here."

Bob Boyd said...

Drago
Do you think it was an Obama ad?

Lem the artificially intelligent said...

It is sad to see the onset of senility....

Clints numbers at the box office are better than Obamas.

Lem the artificially intelligent said...

I would even dare stipulate that over his career, Clints shovel ready jobs produced more employment, thereby stimulating the economy, than Obamas trillion dollars swindle ever did.

edutcher said...

Even better,

"Obama and Biden had their chance. Time to head 'em up and move 'em out".

But Mr Yates doesn't like to be reminded.

chickelit said...

Lynn Maddows projects:
It is sad to see the onset of senility....

It's even sadder to see you confuse wisdom and senility.

Hagar said...

@April Apple,

A car is "American Made" if it is made in America.

Oddly enough, a car is likely to be more "American Made" if it carries "foreign" insignia. Such is the wisdom of our Congress that the law requires a higher "American Made" content for cars made in America by firms headquartered abroad than is required for those made by firms nominally headquartered in the United States.

Nominally, since it was ignored for Chrysler when it was owned by Daimler-Benz as it is now that is owned by Fiat.

Drago said...

Bob: "Do you think it was an Obama ad?"

It was paid for by government funds, overseen by government bureaucrats, produced by an agency that did work for obama 2008, and dovetailed precisely with the obama reelection strategy.

Gee, I guess it was all totally coincidental.

Anonymous said...

it's halftime in America, and our second half is about to begin... with an Italian Chrysler.

Over the years we've bought three Chryslers, a minivan and two jeeps; a General Motor Chervolet which was a tin can, a Ford Explorer and a Ford Escape. We refused to look at "foreign" cars.

Two weeks ago we looked for a replacement of our 11 years old Jeep Grand Cherokee which disintegrated with 70,000 miles on its odometer. We boycotted Govt. Motor, and Italian Chrysler.

We already have a 2006 Ford Escape, so we bought our first made in Ohio "foreign" car, a 2013 Honda CRV.

Hagar said...

Precisely.

Even Romney has been talking about "bailing out the auto industry," and he should know better, being a Romney.
The Obama administration did not bail out the auto industry; they bailed out the UAW.

He does correctly point out that going through bankruptcy does not mean the firm disappears. If that was the case, all the carrier airlines we know would not be here. They have all gone through at least one bankruptcy.

Furthermore, if the firms were to go out of business, the market would still demand the same number of vehicles to be produced; they would just carry different nameplates.

So all those firms in Ohio making auto parts for the "auto manufacturers" would continue to make and sell exactly the same number of parts they are making and selling now.

TexasVoter said...

http://soundcloud.com/thelarslarsonshow/charles-woods-father-of-former

Badger Pundit said...

I did an early, unofficial, mash-up version of this ad, called: "We Own This Country": Clint Eastwood Reloaded. It has 10,000+ views so far. It's here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=umCryQ_W4KE

Kudos to the folks at Crossroads for enlisting Clint Eastwood to do it for real!

Bob Boyd said...

I did not know that.
Do you think Clint Eastwood saw the project as an Obama endorsement?
Did he change his mind so completely in such a short time?

wyo sis said...

Badger
I like it.

jungatheart said...

"So all those firms in Ohio making auto parts for the "auto manufacturers" would continue to make and sell exactly the same number of parts they are making and selling now."

I'm under the impression that after all the hoopla of saving jobs, a lot of parts manufacturing jobs were sent overseas. And many dealerships were closed.