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 really liked the Biden part.
Biggest applause of the act.
Hannity should do an hour long interview with the empty chair. He’s been trying to get Obama on for 4 years + now and he still is a no show.
Okay, I can agree with you if you put it that way.
BTW, last night, Laura Ingraham, filling in for BOR, gave me a glimpse of hope. She was talking about Ryan and showed a clip of an interview that she had had with him some months back. They were talking about Romney as a throw back to the 1950s. Ryan described him as being courteous, honorable, etc. She made reference to Ward Cleaver (”Leave It To Beaver”).
It got me to thinking that, if Romney wins, perhaps there is a hope that the pendulum of social mores could swing back a bit....
With a sign next ti it saying “I’m sorry. This country can’t so that to itself!”
I assume you meant "I'm sorry. This country can't DO that to itself!"
In any event...GREAT idea...an empty chair with that sign next to it popping up on lawns coast to coast would be LOL material!
Yup. That’s what I meant. iPad typing skills still suboptimal.....
But don't put any hope in Mitt changing - that is the very reason he was selected - to give 'false' hope to conservatives for their vote. This is nothing against Ryan at all but the known liar, deceiver, POS Romney.
Look what the Romney team pushed through at the convention against conservatives. And who can replace Ryan in Congress? Was he too powerful, too honorable to shut him up? Everything Romney does is for himself and his agenda.
LOL...that’s why I don’t own an iPad...I have trouble with regular-size keyboards...
There are at least a dozen distinct videos of Clint Eastwood at the RNC.
The one you linked is now up to nearly four times the views: 867,000 ...
The Eastwood Video posted by the (apparently) official RNC convention youtube host is at about 800,000, also.
http://www.youtube.com/user/gopconvention2012/videos
There are videos of many of the RNC speakers available there in one easy place.
Doing a search of site:youtube.com Clint Eastwood yields more than a dozen other videos of his RNC skit. I bet dollars to donuts that more people have watched his skit on YouTube than saw the convention itself. There are also many other newsy sites that host video and don’t go through YouTube.
I believe that YouTube and other video sites are the number one reason that the TV viewing of the Convention was down. People like me are much more likely to seek out video programs we want later than to spend the time watching the TV show directly.
I am now thinking that the suggestions of everyone putting an empty chair out on their lawn will be a great statement - both jocular and pointed at the same time. Mulling over if a sign is needed... Also, mulling over whether putting that chair out immediately or in a while will be better.
Funny... and fierce.
Romney wants to win this one.
I hope so.
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