Clint's very strange speech

Einhard

I've been listening to Clint Eastwood's speech to the RNC, and to be honest I don't think it's as bad as everyone has been making out. I like Clint Eastwood so I'm glad his speech wasn't a total debacle, and he made a case for his views and I respect that.

The thng that troubled me though, was his assertion that weighing up one side of an argument against another is a failure. I mean, I can understand Harry Cllaghan thinkng this, but is it really the Republican positition that thinking is a bad thing? That's exactly what Eastwood said...listen back to his speech and he says that thinking too much about an isssue is a bad thing. That's crazy.

Bannasidhe

Einhard wrote: »

I've been listening to Clint Eastwood's speech to the RNC, and to be honest I don't think it's as bad as everyone has been making out. I like Clint Eastwood so I'm glad his speech wasn't a total debacle, and he made a case for his views and I respect that.

The thng that troubled me though, was his assertion that weighing up one side of an argument against another is a failure. I mean, I can understand Harry Cllaghan thinkng this, but is it really the Republican positition that thinking is a bad thing? That's exactly what Eastwood said...listen back to his speech and he says that thinking too much about an isssue is a bad thing. That's crazy.

A part of me can't help but think Eastwood was trolling.

tony81

The people up in arms (bad choice of words?) about his speech are liberals, that's why these such an uproar on twitter. Obama is a God to some of these people.

I found Clint hugely entertaining without being nasty.

On the other hand... I cannot stand Obama. I can't stand his supposed link to Ireland while playing down his more apparent Kenyan link. I can't stand the way he supposedly smoothed over a race-row slur by "having a bud at the whitehouse". I think his medicare system* will doom Americans to having something like Ireland's shambling healthcare system. I hate that he's "pro-choice" and punishes persons and institutions for taking a pro-life stance. I hate that he met that attention-seeking basket-case "Lady Gaga" to tackle bullying of gay, teen boys (mainly because she isn't gay, a teen, or a boy, but simply exploits them to sell records)... and I hated the chair gag posted on his official twitter page. The man is a clown with little credibility.

* "UPS and FedEx are doing just fine, right? It's the Post Office that's always having problems."

–attempting to make the case for government-run healthcare

Overheal

I thought the speech was peculiar.

Radio phone-ins mention the chair was meant to symbolize an empty suit for a President...

Of the lawyer comments I feel like his point was that it's not a great skillset for someone who needs to actually make decisions, not perpetually weigh and measure everything. Which has it's point.

I think he was baseless about his digs at Air Force One and the Motorcade though. That's something every president uses.

Chuck Stone

I haven't watched the video but listened to the audio and he came across like a confused old man.

tony81 wrote: »

On the other hand... I cannot stand Obama. I can't stand his supposed link to Ireland while playing down his more apparent Kenyan link. I can't stand the way he supposedly smoothed over a race-row slur by "having a bud at the whitehouse". I think his medicare system* will doom Americans to having something like Ireland's shambling healthcare system. I hate that he's "pro-choice" and punishes persons and institutions for taking a pro-life stance. I hate that he met that attention-seeking basket-case "Lady Gaga" to tackle bullying of gay, teen boys (mainly because she isn't gay, a teen, or a boy, but simply exploits them to sell records)... and I hated the chair gag posted on his official twitter page. The man is a clown with little credibility.

I think you might just be a smidgen partisan there fella.

tony81

Chuck Stone wrote: »

I think you might just be a smidgen partisan there fella.

Reflects more on the US political system than it does on me. The man could take a dump and be praised by at least 50% of the American electorate. He's a popularist president. I've an issue with that!

southsiderosie

tony81 wrote: »

Reflects more on the US political system than it does on me. The man could take a dump and be praised by at least 50% of the American electorate. He's a popularist president. I've an issue with that!

Obama's approval ratings have been below 50% for some time. He isn't that popular within his own party, and he is a liability on the ticket for many Democrats, especially outside of large coastal cities. The hysteria over Obama has long since faded, so I am not sure where these comments are coming from.

tony81

The silly chair gag on twitter to be honest brought it all back... Clint has some artistic freedom. Barack's response was just cheap, not classy at all, like all the other cheap, silly things he does to gain popularity. That's basically where I'm coming from.

Brian?

tony81 wrote: »

The silly chair gag on twitter to be honest brought it all back... Clint has some artistic freedom. Barack's response was just cheap, not classy at all, like all the other cheap, silly things he does to gain popularity. That's basically where I'm coming from.

Cheap silly things like preceding his speech at the DNC with a Hollywood Icon talking to a chair? Like taking a snippet of a speech out of context and making it the theme of a convention? Like blaming his opponent on shutting down a factory that closed before he took power? Shall I go on?

The amount of cheap shots taken at Obama this week has been unbelievable.

ResearchWill

tony81 wrote: »

Reflects more on the US political system than it does on me. The man could take a dump and be praised by at least 50% of the American electorate. He's a popularist president. I've an issue with that!

Heaven forbid a politician, try and be popularist, won't do at all, this trying to get elected thing will never catch on.

Any person be they republican or democrat in the US who actually can manage to get to a position to run for the presidency is going to have a huge and loyal following no matter what he or she does. To then use that against him is just silly.

Reagan could do no wrong in the eyes of many Americans, same with many other presidents. But what does amaze me is the vitriol which is more acidic than usual that is thrown out against the current president.

jank

ResearchWill wrote: »

Heaven forbid a politician, try and be popularist, won't do at all, this trying to get elected thing will never catch on.

Any person be they republican or democrat in the US who actually can manage to get to a position to run for the presidency is going to have a huge and loyal following no matter what he or she does. To then use that against him is just silly.

Reagan could do no wrong in the eyes of many Americans, same with many other presidents. But what does amaze me is the vitriol which is more acidic than usual that is thrown out against the current president.

I would dispute that. Bush was hated by the left. Clinton was hated by the right. Presidents are hated by the party that loses. You think McCain and Palin would be liked if they won? Can you imagine the left reactions to Palin being VP? Thats american politics for you. It has nothing to do with Obama itself.

Duck Soup

Imagine if, for example, Chris Rock had put words into the mouth of an imaginary Romney the same way Eastwood did.

"He can shove what up his what? C'mon man, I can't say that in front of all these people!"

From Fox News to the Wall Street Journal, the place would have lit up like Christmas with outrage.

ResearchWill

jank wrote: »

I would dispute that. Bush was hated by the left. Clinton was hated by the right. Presidents are hated by the party that loses. You think McCain and Palin would be liked if they won? Can you imagine the left reactions to Palin being VP? Thats american politics for you. It has nothing to do with Obama itself.

I don't deny nor did I deny that other presidents have been hated, I cleary stated in my opinion the vitriol is some what more acidic in the case of President Obama, in a way a more personal attack.

The post I was replying to is an example, I never remember presidents Bush or Clinton, attacked because they had a loyal following and happened to be popular. That kind of attack is just silly, to say president Obama is a bad President because he is popular is an argument that by its very nature can be used against any politician.

jank

ResearchWill wrote: »

I don't deny nor did I deny that other presidents have been hated, I cleary stated in my opinion the vitriol is some what more acidic in the case of President Obama, in a way a more personal attack.

Well again, I would dispute that. Did you miss what happened in Clintons second term? He spent most of it fighting impeachment cause of the BJ. That is US politics for you.

ResearchWill wrote: »

The post I was replying to is an example, I never remember presidents Bush or Clinton, attacked because they had a loyal following and happened to be popular. That kind of attack is just silly, to say president Obama is a bad President because he is popular is an argument that by its very nature can be used against any politician.

Well clearly you have a very short memory. Bush was castigated because he was seen as a popular guy you could have a beer with but many in the media labelled him an idiot of the highest order. Clinton being a regular guy from Little Rock was also labelled a bit of a country bumpkin even by his own party who mostly came from the North Eastern states.

ResearchWill

jank wrote: »

Well again, I would dispute that. Did you miss what happened in Clintons second term? He spent most of it fighting impeachment cause of the BJ. That is US politics for you.



Well clearly you have a very short memory. Bush was castigated because he was seen as a popular guy you could have a beer with but many in the media labelled him an idiot of the highest order. Clinton being a regular guy from Little Rock was also labelled a bit of a country bumpkin even by his own party who mostly came from the North Eastern states.

Are you ignoring my comments, I have stated yes other presidents have been hated, President Clinton brought the bj thing all on himself, btw the impeachment, was todo with telling porkies about a BJ, which he did do and he got away with it, while President Obama is attacked about his birth cert. I don't every remember any president been accused of being another religion, when it is clear he is not.

Yes again President Bush was labeled a bumpkin, never could understand that myself, same with allegations of all kinds against President Clinton, but I don't remember anyone basing the statement they must be a bad President simply because they are popular, a politician must by the very nature of the job be popular.

I will quote the statement I was commenting on,

"Reflects more on the US political system than it does on me. The man could take a dump and be praised by at least 50% of the American electorate. He's a popularist president. I've an issue with that"



My opinion is a personal opinion, it was clearly stated by me, that while I accepted all other Presidents have been attacked, in my personal opinion the attacks on the current president of the US seem to go further than before.

Amerika

I thought the Eastwood speech was pretty good. Poignant topics, him questioning key promises made by Obama which got him elected last time around, and done with Eastwood style in an old-time humor fashion that would appeal to the middle-aged and seniors, who might not think Jon Stewart is the cat's meow. I think you will start hearing a new term created from Clin't speech... Empty Chair Politics.

Dave!

Amerika wrote: »

I think you will start hearing a new term created from Clin't speech... Empty Chair Politics.

Actually I think you'll find that the only widely used term that resulted from the speech is Eastwooding...

Overheal

^ Eastwooding - Google Results

I give it a week before knowyourmeme.com makes it official.

Amerika

LOL... Seems today has become an impromptu "Empty Chair Day" across the interent.

poeticseraphim

My opinion is a personal opinion, it was clearly stated by me, that while I accepted all other Presidents have been attacked, in my personal opinion the attacks on the current president of the US seem to go further than before.

Even Clinton and Bush?

I think during the Clinton nd Bush years both camps changed the tone permenantly on the issue of due respet for the office and questioning the president.

Clinton and Bush both made mistakes the latter unquestionably so but he was president under a crisis.


The lewdness and crudeness of Jokes about Bush and Clinton changed things which is why it is bad for politics to engage in it all the time it damages the culture of respect for democratically elected officials.

Questioning Clinton and Bush and challenging them gave way to digs at every oppertunity.

The dumb Bush jokes were ridiculous...i am not saying that Bush is not Dumb what i am saying is that people laughed at them because it made them feel smart and the high frequency of those jokes was ridiculous.

Those Bush jokes ..the Clinton comments and some romeny and Obama attacks , especially this Clinton speech and it's rebuttals all serve a political and secondary non political personal purpose of quasi intellectualism. They make dumb people feel smart. They make politically powerless and bankrupt people feel powerful.

You feel disenfranchised ..your conservative ...jump on the powerful rich white man's bandwagon...it makes you feel powerful.

You are uneducated and insecure laugh athe dumb rich kid.


Politics has been involving progressively wilder and wilder attacks in the US for years now. Very little is out of bounds. That goes for anyone and everyone i think.


You have The GOP taking in langauge with racist and sexist overtones. You have Joe Biden saying Romney wants to put the Black community 'in chains'. Both of these push the boundaries of what is acceptable to say in politics. If it keeps going it will end up like Gerry Springer and calling someone a racist Nazi or a Soviet communist will no longer be shocking and those terms become labels some might be comfortable wearing.

I keep hearing the term liberal....it is immediately missleading not all democrats might consider themsleves liberal ...not all people who vote for Obama will be democrats or liberal. But it is a device to immediately draw up sides and forcing you to pick one. Then liberal becomes libtard etc. It is trying to create a tribe on both sides where none exist.

Thus the crazy attacks and jokes from everywhere.


Plus Free Speech..blah blah...it's good....and we should all agree that free speech is good without voicing dissenting opinions .....yay free speech ..:)....

If free speech gets too out of control and out of balance it can defeat the purpose in having it. Freedom of expression is oppressed by excessive hostility in the name of free speech . Particularly reasoned high quality expression.

I think conflict nd hostility can be positive sometimes but not in a never ending escalation.

MadsL

joseph brand

Overheal

The party is in kind of a pickle politically with GWB. They supported him vehemently throughout his entire presidency, and even support him now whenever anyone tries to reference his Presidency, but oddly at the same time he's like that weird uncle that nobody wants to call or send christmas cards to or talk about at parties.

Amerika

LOL… Although the DNC thinks so, George W Bush isn’t running in 2012.

How about that dang Woodrow Wilison... we're still suffering from his policies.

Overheal

Amerika wrote: »

LOL… Although the DNC thinks so, George W Bush isn’t running in 2012.

no of course not - just the party that elected him and backed him is running, that's all. The party who said it's #1 job wasn't jobs, the economy, healthcare or the wars in Iraq, it's #1 job was getting the president out of office. I mean, fcuk cooperation right?

Amerika

After 5 days, Clint Eastwood finally speaks. His speech was aimed at people in the middle, and his convention appearance was 'mission accomplished.'

http://www.pineconearchive.com/120907-1.html

20Cent

Clint on the speech.

“If somebody’s dumb enough to ask me to go to a political convention and say something, they’re gonna have to take what they get.”

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/reliable-source/post/quoted-clint-eastwood-explains-some-more-about-tampa/2012/09/18/b55a7a3c-0145-11e2-b257-e1c2b3548a4a_blog.html

lol