Posted on 08/31/2012 1:51:35 PM PDT by smoothsailing
August 31, 2012
Derek Hunter
Liberals wanted nothing more than to see a divided Republican Party this week, sputtering out of Tampa and limping across the country. They didn’t get that.
What they got was a party united behind their nominee and in purpose.
This unity has caused even more panic than normal.
While waiting to interview former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani, I listened to a reporter from CBS ask him three questions in a row about how he’s out of the mainstream of the party because of his pro-choice, pro-gay marriage views. Giuliani, being too smart to give the reporter the attack on his fellow Republicans he clearly wanted, denied any division. Were it not for time constraints, there’s little doubt the question would’ve been asked several more times, not for lack of an answer but for lack of the desired answer.
I asked the mayor if the division was more a reality or media meme. Not surprisingly, he thought the latter.
Giuliani said, “Sure, we disagree on some social issues but there’s always disagreement. The question is: do you agree on a lot more things than you disagree on and I think, ‘yes, we do.’ There’s one thing this entire convention is focused on, we all agree on: we cannot take four more years of Barack Obama. He will ruin our economy in a way that’s going to be very hard to repair.”
“Mitt Romney will be a much better President than Barack Obama even if we don’t all agree on everything he will do.”
He continued, “They’re (the media) are looking for the little fissures in our party and trying to take the little disagreements and trying to make them into permanent disagreements, which they’re not.”
The mayor was right, but the media has their agenda and their candidate. He must be protected at all costs.
That’s why you got a night of coverage last night mocking Clint Eastwood’s brilliant performance mocking President Obama as an empty chair. Inside the “Washington bubble,” which travels with them to these events, they’ve never heard such things at Georgetown cocktail parties.
It’s a world in which former New Yorker film critic Pauline Kael is quoted as saying, “I don’t know how Nixon won. I don’t know anyone who voted for him.” (The actual quote may be different, but equally as telling of this “bubble” mentality.)
You’ll never find a more incestuous group than journalists. That they socialize extensively, if not exclusively, with each other in Washington and events like conventions is not a surprise, but the extent to which they insulate themselves from their fellow non-journalist humans would shock even the most ardent observer. They may interview real humans from time to time, but those are people picked by their producers and they safely return to the bubble once the recording devices are off.
That’s why you get today’s media meme – Clint Eastwood was a huge flop last night.
In the convention hall, Eastwood talking to an empty chair was huge hit. In homes across the country, the reaction was the same. Inside the bubble is the only place it wasn’t well received.
The incestuous circle of media wagons has been immune from such talk, only bringing criticism of the President up to mock it over a Tom Collins or gin and tonic at David Frum’s house, or some such similar venue. As they are the megaphone, and the filter, through which politicians are forced to speak to the American people, they are confused and angry when someone deviates from their desired norm.
Eastwood said what I’ve heard from non-journalist, non-political people for the last two years – President Obama hasn’t delivered on his promises, and now things are worse. There’s a growing sense, that’s been growing for a while, that President Obama doesn’t know or care what he’s doing, that he’s an empty suit.
Clint Eastwood made him an empty chair.
The media has, and will continue to tell you that Eastwood was a flop, a mistake of epic proportions. Democrats will say how horrible it was. But they both know this country holds Clint Eastwood as an icon and has done so for nearly 50 years. Real people like, trust and believe him. A tornado’s worth of spin won’t touch the credibility that man has earned with the American people.
How do I know I’m right? How do I know Democrats even know this, no matter what they’re saying publicly? Twitter.
Last night the Obama campaign felt the need to respond to “the Eastwood fumble” with a tweet saying, “This seat’s taken” and a picture of President Obama sitting in his chair in the White House Cabinet Room. In spite of the revelation that fully 70% of the Presidents Twitter followers are fake accounts, his campaign felt the need to respond to the remaining 30% and the world. Campaigns don’t respond to things they see as irrelevant, they respond to things they see as damaging in the hope of stopping the hemorrhaging.
What all the spin, all the MSNBC hosts and paid consultants or pictures of Obama sitting in chairs in the world can’t change is that that chair is still empty when it comes to successes and to ideas for improving upon his failed record. And what all of those things will never, ever be able to change is the fact that a man, an icon that the American people know, love and trust, went around the President’s media guard dogs directly to them and pointed it out for the whole world to see.
Last night, Clint Eastwood not only made a lot of people's day, he made a difference in this election. As a conservative, I feel lucky to have had him on that stage...punk.
I just wanted him to grind o’s last 4 years of “governance” to dust. You make a fine point about not giving the opposition “fodder” to argue about.
But, I’m on your side and don’t need to be responded to with use of the word “nonsense” or the patronizing tone with which you finished you response to me. It’s uncalled for and we on the Right are better than that. Thank you.
Clint Eastwood did a masterful “Elwood P. Dowd – Harvey” take off. Its time for Clint’s pooka to move no, he’s cause enough mischief to this nation. Jimmy Steward is looking down and smiling.
So the DemocRATs are now going to have Dingy Harry as a speaker at their convention.
The gift that keeps on giving: “The Insider” rebroadcast Rachel Maddow’s (MSNBC) insulting comments about his age, as if now he’s got senile dementia. Yeah, what a way to attract the senior citizen vote.
The “Best of Maddow and Matthews” on Fox News probably gets them more viewers than their original MSNBC “they’re all racists and granny killers” rants.
I remember meeting him years ago at one of the Bob Hope golf tournaments in the Palm Springs area. I remember he had the same way of speaking then as he does now.
;)
That would have been overkill, it was done with perfection.
:)
Thank you for the clip, I was looking for Jon Voight’s reaction. I thought that he would love it. Clint Eastwood IMHO is the only one that could have done this so well.
The branding that Clint Eastwood gave Obama will long endure.
He hit a home run.
I don't argue with the way a Genius Director formulates his play.
The 60 and 70’s were better than today - there is no question about it. Starting is a far cry from being there - where we are now -at the bottom.
Anyone or anything goes now. Progressives are for ‘forward’ not ‘returning to’. It took them awhile to get what they wanted, now they (repub & rats)both have it.
Hahahahaha! There it is! Thank you for the pics! :^D
LOL!
No, the empty chair was perfect. Minimalism. Let the viewers use their imagination.
Remember Bob Newhart’s comedy routine, with the monologues? I wonder how Newhart would deal with BO — but I don’t know Newhart’s political leanings.
“I heard that Clint Eastwood is channeling me at the RNC. My lawyers and I are drafting our lawsuit.” @bobnewhart
The empty chair was fine, but I especially like the visual of the empty suit sitting down that I continue to see posted on the internet in various places.
Not a criticism. Just a personal preference. To each his own.
Obama is an empty suit vs. Obama is an empty chair.
Same can be said of Boehner, if you saw his drunken ass try to close the proceedings last night. Fool was so hammered, I was seeing double!
You are right, and I offer my sincere apology for being a pedantic bore.
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