- Clint Eastwood at the 2012 GOP Convention
Clint Eastwood was the surprise guest speaker at the GOP convention on Thursday night. He's 82 years old, and he delivered an address that was unscripted, unrehearsed, and off teleprompter. There are rave reviews and there are brutal pans of his presentation, but one thing is certain: if a speech is still being talked about and dissected several days later, it was effective.
If the screeching protests and scathing critiques of Clint Eastwood from the network media elites and the limousine liberals in Hollywood are any criteria, he scored big. So blunt, direct, and specific was Eastwood's criticism of the president, it could take years for the lefties to recover their equilibrium.
Because it was so extemporaneous, Eastwood's speech had its flaws. There were odd ramblings, pregnant pauses, and sound issues due to Eastwood turning his head to face the "empty chair" of President Obama. But when he hit the mark, he was as deadly as Dirty Harry nailing a villain.
That visual of an empty chair really made a symbolic statement, and it irked the White House enough to prompt a response via Twitter. "This seat's taken," the tweeted message sniffed, showing a photo of the president sitting in his chair. Presidential campaign season is not for the thin of skin.
No intelligent voter is going to change positions because of a Hollywood star's speech. But some who are still weighing their decisions might take what was said into consideration. That's what has the Left so enraged. Eastwood may have actually reached some undecided voters.
If Clint Eastwood was successful in doing that, then he has helped to make my Election Day.
