GOP Convention
- Thread starter Kreskin
- Start date
Oh what? Was I supposed to watch it all the way through and become enlightened or something?
*pfft* :roll:
Mr. Romney Reinvents History
Mitt Romney wrapped the most important speech of his life, for Thursday night’s session of his convention, around an extraordinary reinvention of history — that his party rallied behind President Obama when he won in 2008, hoping that he would succeed. “That president was not the choice of our party,” he said. “We are a good and generous people who are united by so much more than divides us.”
The truth, rarely heard this week in Tampa, Fla., is that the Republicans charted a course of denial and obstruction from the day Mr. Obama was inaugurated, determined to deny him a second term by denying him any achievement, no matter the cost to the economy or American security — even if it meant holding the nation’s credit rating hostage to a narrow partisan agenda.
Mr. Romney’s big speech, delivered in a treacly tone with a strange misty smile on his face suggesting he was always about to burst into tears, was of a piece with the rest of the convention. Republicans have offered precious little of substance but a lot of bromides (“A free world is a more peaceful world!”) meant to convey profundity and take passive-aggressive digs at President Obama. But no subjects have received less attention, or been treated with less honesty, than foreign affairs and national security — and Mr. Romney’s banal speech was no exception.
It’s easy to understand why the Republicans have steered clear of these areas. While President Obama is vulnerable on some domestic issues, the Republicans have no purchase on foreign and security policy. In a television interview on Wednesday, Condoleezza Rice, the former secretary of state, could not name an area in which Mr. Obama had failed on foreign policy.
For decades, the Republicans were able to present themselves as the tougher party on foreign and military policy. Mr. Obama has robbed them of that by being aggressive on counterterrorism and by flexing military and diplomatic muscle repeatedly and effectively.
Mitt Romney has tried to sound tough, but it’s hard to see how he would act differently from Mr. Obama except in ways that are scary — like attacking Iran, or overspending on defense in ways that would not provide extra safety but would hurt the economy.
Before Thursday night, the big foreign policy speeches were delivered by Senator John McCain and Ms. Rice. Mr. McCain was specific on one thing: Mr. Obama’s plan to start pulling out of Afghanistan at the end of 2014 is too rapid. While he does not speak for Mr. Romney, his other ideas were unnerving, like suggesting that the United States should intervene in Syria.
Mr. Romney reportedly considered Ms. Rice as a running mate, and she seems to have real influence. But Ms. Rice is a reminder of the colossal errors and deceptions of George W. Bush’s administration. She was a central player in the decision to invade Iraq and the peddling of fantasies about weapons of mass destruction. She barely mentioned Iraq in her speech and spoke not at all about Afghanistan. She was particularly ludicrous when she talked about keeping America strong at home so it could be strong globally, since she was part of the team that fought two wars off the books and entirely on borrowed money.
Ms. Rice said the United States has lost its “exceptionalism,” but she never gave the slightest clue what she meant by that — a return to President Bush’s policy of preventive and unnecessary war?
She and Mr. McCain both invoked the idea of “peace through strength,” but one of the few concrete proposals Mr. Romney has made — spending 4 percent of G.D.P. on defense — would weaken the economy severely. Mr. McCain was not telling the truth when he said Mr. Obama wants to cut another $500 billion from military spending. That amount was imposed by the Republicans as part of the extortion they demanded to raise the debt ceiling.
Ms. Rice said American allies need to know where the United States stands and that alliances are vitally important. But the truth is that Mr. Obama has repaired those alliances and restored allies’ confidence in America’s position after Mr. Bush and Ms. Rice spent years tearing them apart and ruining America’s reputation in the world.
The one alliance on which there is real debate between Mr. Romney and Mr. Obama is with Israel. But it is not, as Mr. Romney and his supporters want Americans to believe, about whether Mr. Obama is a supporter of Israel. Every modern president has been, including Mr. Obama. Apart from outsourcing his policy to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on settlements, it’s not clear what Mr. Romney would do differently.
But after watching the Republicans for three days in Florida, that comes as no surprise.
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/08/31/o...?_r=1&nl=todaysheadlines&emc=edit_th_20120831
This was so much fun that I can hardly wait for the DNC to start. Should be interesting to see how they treat the truth.
Mitt Romney wrapped the most important speech of his life, for Thursday night’s session of his convention, around an extraordinary reinvention of history — that his party rallied behind President Obama when he won in 2008, hoping that he would succeed. “That president was not the choice of our party,” he said. “We are a good and generous people who are united by so much more than divides us.”
The truth, rarely heard this week in Tampa, Fla., is that the Republicans charted a course of denial and obstruction from the day Mr. Obama was inaugurated, determined to deny him a second term by denying him any achievement, no matter the cost to the economy or American security — even if it meant holding the nation’s credit rating hostage to a narrow partisan agenda.
Mr. Romney’s big speech, delivered in a treacly tone with a strange misty smile on his face suggesting he was always about to burst into tears, was of a piece with the rest of the convention. Republicans have offered precious little of substance but a lot of bromides (“A free world is a more peaceful world!”) meant to convey profundity and take passive-aggressive digs at President Obama. But no subjects have received less attention, or been treated with less honesty, than foreign affairs and national security — and Mr. Romney’s banal speech was no exception.
It’s easy to understand why the Republicans have steered clear of these areas. While President Obama is vulnerable on some domestic issues, the Republicans have no purchase on foreign and security policy. In a television interview on Wednesday, Condoleezza Rice, the former secretary of state, could not name an area in which Mr. Obama had failed on foreign policy.
For decades, the Republicans were able to present themselves as the tougher party on foreign and military policy. Mr. Obama has robbed them of that by being aggressive on counterterrorism and by flexing military and diplomatic muscle repeatedly and effectively.
Mitt Romney has tried to sound tough, but it’s hard to see how he would act differently from Mr. Obama except in ways that are scary — like attacking Iran, or overspending on defense in ways that would not provide extra safety but would hurt the economy.
Before Thursday night, the big foreign policy speeches were delivered by Senator John McCain and Ms. Rice. Mr. McCain was specific on one thing: Mr. Obama’s plan to start pulling out of Afghanistan at the end of 2014 is too rapid. While he does not speak for Mr. Romney, his other ideas were unnerving, like suggesting that the United States should intervene in Syria.
Mr. Romney reportedly considered Ms. Rice as a running mate, and she seems to have real influence. But Ms. Rice is a reminder of the colossal errors and deceptions of George W. Bush’s administration. She was a central player in the decision to invade Iraq and the peddling of fantasies about weapons of mass destruction. She barely mentioned Iraq in her speech and spoke not at all about Afghanistan. She was particularly ludicrous when she talked about keeping America strong at home so it could be strong globally, since she was part of the team that fought two wars off the books and entirely on borrowed money.
Ms. Rice said the United States has lost its “exceptionalism,” but she never gave the slightest clue what she meant by that — a return to President Bush’s policy of preventive and unnecessary war?
She and Mr. McCain both invoked the idea of “peace through strength,” but one of the few concrete proposals Mr. Romney has made — spending 4 percent of G.D.P. on defense — would weaken the economy severely. Mr. McCain was not telling the truth when he said Mr. Obama wants to cut another $500 billion from military spending. That amount was imposed by the Republicans as part of the extortion they demanded to raise the debt ceiling.
Ms. Rice said American allies need to know where the United States stands and that alliances are vitally important. But the truth is that Mr. Obama has repaired those alliances and restored allies’ confidence in America’s position after Mr. Bush and Ms. Rice spent years tearing them apart and ruining America’s reputation in the world.
The one alliance on which there is real debate between Mr. Romney and Mr. Obama is with Israel. But it is not, as Mr. Romney and his supporters want Americans to believe, about whether Mr. Obama is a supporter of Israel. Every modern president has been, including Mr. Obama. Apart from outsourcing his policy to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on settlements, it’s not clear what Mr. Romney would do differently.
But after watching the Republicans for three days in Florida, that comes as no surprise.
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/08/31/o...?_r=1&nl=todaysheadlines&emc=edit_th_20120831
This was so much fun that I can hardly wait for the DNC to start. Should be interesting to see how they treat the truth.
Yeah, even the right wingnuts on here hoped for Obama's failure, so for anyone to pretend the hoped he'd succeed is laughable.
There were even people on this forum who seemed to want Obama assassinated.
There were even people on this forum who seemed to want Obama assassinated.
One of the funniest columns I've read in weeks; Dave Barry move over.
Naming names or just spewing crap.
Since you enjoyed that one so much, Walter..........here's another knee-slapper for you. ;-)
At the Republican National Convention: All hail Invisibama!
by Scott Feschuk on Friday, August 31, 2012
7:03 p.m. ET On CNN, Anderson Cooper is saying that Republican operatives have promised a “carefully crafted buildup” to Mitt Romney’s acceptance speech. This remark will become worth remembering in a few hours, right around the time Clint Eastwood begins interrogating a piece of furniture.
7:13 C-SPAN reporters break some big news: the 100,000 balloons that will descend on Mitt Romney and the convention floor at the end of his speech tonight were inflated, according to an interview with a guy from the balloon company, over a period of just five hours. STOP THE PRESSES OR WHATEVER MAKES WORDS APPEAR ON THE INTERNET. The reporter wants more from his source: “How,” he asks, “do you make sure [the balloons] come down?” Balloon Guy scoffs. Balloon Guy says: “The drop will be very, very nice.” Balloon Guy says no balloons will get stuck on his watch, ho ho. This remark will become worth remembering in a few hours, right around the time the balloons get stuck on his watch.
7:36 Connie Mack, senate candidate in Florida, walks to the podium and declares, “Once again, it’s morning in America!” As we all know, that’s an echo of a campaign slogan from the time of Ronald Reagan. But, psst, Connie Mack – cm’over here. Bring it in close, okay? Dude, there’s one small thing about “Morning in America” that you should probably have checked up on. Reagan used it as his slogan in 1984 – after he’d already been president for a term and after a recovery had taken hold. If it were morning in America now, few would even consider voting for Mitt Romney. RUN BACK OUT THERE AND SAY IT’S, AT BEST, GLOAMING IN AMERICA!
7:49 Newt and Callista Gingrich appear on stage together to pay tribute to Ronald Reagan because apparently it’s been four minutes since someone did that. It’s an unusual moment: first, because Newt is forced to read from a script, and you can see in the strain on his face how hard it is for him to keep from dropping some polysyllabic Newt Truths on us; and second, because it turns out Callista Gingrich speaks with the exact same amount of verve and passion as the computer voice on Star Trek.
Newt : “This is the most critical election of our lifetimes! We must commit ourselves to honouring the spirit of Ronald Reagan!”
Callista : “The Reagan legacy is functioning within established parameters.”
8:01 Craig Romney, son of Mitt Romney, delivers a brief address and in so doing proves once and for all that the apple didn’t fall far from the boring.
8:05 Jeb Bush: “This election is about the future of this nation.” Unlike most elections, which are about sandwiches and scoring chicks.
8:32 Welcome to the part of the evening in which the people who know Mitt Romney tell us about Mitt Romney. There are a number of compelling moments. Romney comes off as a loyal friend, a devoted family man, a savvy business executive and – through the stories of a dying teenager and a sick baby – a deeply decent, giving and thoughtful man in moments of human crisis. Says one friend of Mitt: “When it comes to helping your neighbour, we can talk about it – or we can live it. The Romneys live it, every single day.” Mitt Romney may be the first candidate who wants to become president so he can help fewer people.
8:50 Bob White, chairman of the Romney-Ryan campaign: “For 30 years, I have been at Mitt Romney’s side when he did extraordinary things. As Mitt says, I’m his wingman.” I’m pretty sure neither of those guys knows what that word is generally accepted to mean.
9:16 Kerry Healey, who worked with Romney when he was governor of Massachusetts, rhymes off a number of impressive traits about Mitt and tells this little story: “Mitt was always a hands-on leader. When one of Boston’s tunnels collapsed, tragically killing a passenger in her car, Mitt didn’t blame others. He dove in and fixed the problem.” Wait: Mitt Romney raised the dead? That really feels like it should be a bigger part of his campaign. <Fade in.> “Hi, I’m Mitt Romney. Can Obama do THIS? [reanimates Elvis Presley].”
9:21 We move on to the 17th advocate for Mitt and the whole production begins to sound like that WKRP episode in which everyone is cajoled to describe Herb as “a hard worker, loyal husband and all-around fine person.” Delegates are starting to lose interest. Then, out of nowhere, a person who grew up with Mitt Romney, or worked with him, or was returned to this plane of existence from the spirit world by his hand, stares into the camera and firmly declares: “Mitt Romney will never apologize for America!” Yeah, because that happens a lot – because if there’s one thing there’s just too much of, it’s U.S. politicians and presidents going around and apologizing for America. SORRY. SORRY, WORLD. OUR BAD.
9:34 A group of former Olympians takes the stage to demonstrate their support for the Republican nominee. Hundreds of miles to the north, in a darkened room in Washington, a grim-faced Barack Obama takes note of the fact that Mitt Romney has won the allegiance of the 2007 world champion in skeleton. Obama’s heart sinks. He knows now the election is lost.
9:37 The Olympians make their case. “America is faltering. We need strong leadership, we need new leadership and we need it now.” – Some skeet shooter.
9:42 Mike Eruzione, captain of America’s Miracle on Ice hockey team, delivers a brief speech in which it becomes apparent that he a) supports Mitt Romney for president, and b) thinks “athletes” is pronounced with three syllables. Eruzione continues: “Mitt is a brilliant leader who is committed to the highest ideals and he is a wonderful and caring family man.” That’s pretty convincing – but the smart voter won’t make a final decision until there’s been some input from beach volleyballers and biathletes.
9:55 Welcome to the Obligatory Montage of Romney Home Videos, the part of the evening when millions of Americans realize that neither they nor their children have a hope of becoming president because they lack the required hours of endearing home-movie snippets that are Revealing of Character.
For instance, one of the things we’ve been told repeatedly this week is that Mitt Romney is frugal. It’s an appealing trait for a politician in a time of high deficits. But it turns out that what everybody’s actually been trying to say is: Mitt Romney is cheap as hell. Dude doesn’t even replace his stovetop light bulb with one of the correct size or wattage – he just jams in there some random oversized bulb he’d already purchased.
A former work colleague of Romney declares: “If he can save 50 cents on paperclips, he’d drive a mile to do it.” I ask you: Is this what America really wants in a president? Listen, soldier, I know you need a pair of cutters to snip that wire and defuse this bomb that is about to obliterate this vibrant downtown area – but I tell you what, here, let’s save the American people the eight bucks and I’ll just gnaw at it with my teeth.
10:02 Suddenly, Clint Eastwood is at the microphone. There is wild applause. Eastwood squints and smiles: “Save a little for Mitt.” Delegates laugh. OH HOW THEY LAUGH. They begin to mentally praise the genius political operative who secured Eastwood’s participation because this is exactly the kind of star power the Romney campaign needs in order to break through and– um, hang on, what’s Clint doing? Is he talking to a chair? He’s not talking to a chair? Oh, that’s a relief. For a moment there I thought he was– ah, so he’s talking to Invisible Barack Obama, who is apparently sitting in the chair? I don’t think that’s better.
[Three minutes of increasingly awkward “laughter” later...]
Well, sure, it’s a little unusual, I suppose. It’s a little unusual that it’s 10 o’clock on the final night of the Republican National Convention and the party’s presidential nominee is poised to deliver the biggest speech of his life and meanwhile a world-famous Hollywood celebrity is having a conversation with an invisible president. And sure, maybe it wouldn’t have hurt if Clint had worked from a script, or a few bullet points, or an idea that had progressed even a tiny bit beyond: Chair.
But it’s not like Eastwood is taking it too far or– um, hang on, did he just suggest that Invisibama had told him to go f— himself. He did? Oh, my. And did he actually just say: “Do you just… you know… I know… people were wondering… you don’t… handle that okay.” He did?
Oh, well, it’ll still be great to have Clint formally endorse Mitt and– um, what’s that? He’s not endorsing Mitt at all? In fact, to the contrary, he’s saying that all politicians are the same and “they’re just going to come around every few years and beg for votes?” Interesting. That’s interesting. [Gouges out own eyes to make the horror stop.]
(America can be so adorable sometimes. They regard their celebrities with such reverence that the Romney campaign – which was so obsessive about approving every word uttered by every speaker, and choreographing every image and moment – just went ahead and let an 82-year-old man walk out onto the stage in prime time with an empty chair, no script and some grade-A bed head. But speaking for myself, I realize I’ve got bigger problems to worry about: If invisible Obama is in Tampa, who’s watching my kids?)
10:17 Marco Rubio, the senator from Florida, arrives to introduce Mitt Romney. And you have to hand it to Rubio because he does it in a really interesting way. You know how usually the person who’s introducing the other person will talk about the person they’re introducing? Marco Rubio puts a bit of a fresh spin on that by instead speaking about the person who’s doing the introducing, ie. Marco Rubio. FYI, according to Marco Rubio, this Marco Rubio character is one hell of a guy. Also, by the way, Mitt Romney everyone!
10:36 Mitt Romney enters and walks through the hall, shaking hands. By the time he reaches the stage, Clint Eastwood has wandered out into the parking lot and is exchanging life stories with a Hyundai.
Romney’s speech may be remembered for a number of different elements. It may be remembered for the candidate’s touching remembrance of his father’s love for his mother. It may be remembered for its largely negative tone, a jarring contrast after two hours of hearing about Mitt the Eternal Optimist. It may be remembered for dubious feel-good lines like, “I have a plan to create 12 million jobs!” (Hint: It involves starting up three million boy bands.)
Many will remember it for a single line. It was a line that was crafted to help position Romney as the practical problem solver to Barack Obama’s hopey-changey dreamer. But it became something very different because of how delegates reacted to it.
Here’s how the line appeared in the text: “President Obama promised to begin to slow the rise of the oceans and heal the planet. My promise is to help you and your family.”
Here’s how it actually sounded: “President Obama promised to begin to slow the rise of the oceans [huge gales of laughter from Republican delegates, because massive, life-sustaining bodies of water are for pussies] and heal the planet [BWAHAHAHA. Suck it, science!].”
From there, the end of Romney’s speech pretty much wrote itself: “By way of closing, I say to my fellow Americans tonight: planets and oceans can be replaced. What can’t be replaced is the love we feel for our future island nation. If we’ve learned anything from the rigorous science of Waterworld, it’s that at least several of us will survive and adapt, possibly with rudimentary gills of some kind and then there’ll be no stopping us. May God bless the undersea kingdom of the United States of America!”
http://www2.macleans.ca/2012/08/31/republican-national-convention-all-hail-invisibama/
http://www2.macleans.ca/2012/08/31/republican-national-convention-all-hail-invisibama/
At the Republican National Convention: All hail Invisibama!
by Scott Feschuk on Friday, August 31, 2012
7:03 p.m. ET On CNN, Anderson Cooper is saying that Republican operatives have promised a “carefully crafted buildup” to Mitt Romney’s acceptance speech. This remark will become worth remembering in a few hours, right around the time Clint Eastwood begins interrogating a piece of furniture.
7:13 C-SPAN reporters break some big news: the 100,000 balloons that will descend on Mitt Romney and the convention floor at the end of his speech tonight were inflated, according to an interview with a guy from the balloon company, over a period of just five hours. STOP THE PRESSES OR WHATEVER MAKES WORDS APPEAR ON THE INTERNET. The reporter wants more from his source: “How,” he asks, “do you make sure [the balloons] come down?” Balloon Guy scoffs. Balloon Guy says: “The drop will be very, very nice.” Balloon Guy says no balloons will get stuck on his watch, ho ho. This remark will become worth remembering in a few hours, right around the time the balloons get stuck on his watch.
7:36 Connie Mack, senate candidate in Florida, walks to the podium and declares, “Once again, it’s morning in America!” As we all know, that’s an echo of a campaign slogan from the time of Ronald Reagan. But, psst, Connie Mack – cm’over here. Bring it in close, okay? Dude, there’s one small thing about “Morning in America” that you should probably have checked up on. Reagan used it as his slogan in 1984 – after he’d already been president for a term and after a recovery had taken hold. If it were morning in America now, few would even consider voting for Mitt Romney. RUN BACK OUT THERE AND SAY IT’S, AT BEST, GLOAMING IN AMERICA!
7:49 Newt and Callista Gingrich appear on stage together to pay tribute to Ronald Reagan because apparently it’s been four minutes since someone did that. It’s an unusual moment: first, because Newt is forced to read from a script, and you can see in the strain on his face how hard it is for him to keep from dropping some polysyllabic Newt Truths on us; and second, because it turns out Callista Gingrich speaks with the exact same amount of verve and passion as the computer voice on Star Trek.
Newt : “This is the most critical election of our lifetimes! We must commit ourselves to honouring the spirit of Ronald Reagan!”
Callista : “The Reagan legacy is functioning within established parameters.”
8:01 Craig Romney, son of Mitt Romney, delivers a brief address and in so doing proves once and for all that the apple didn’t fall far from the boring.
8:05 Jeb Bush: “This election is about the future of this nation.” Unlike most elections, which are about sandwiches and scoring chicks.
8:32 Welcome to the part of the evening in which the people who know Mitt Romney tell us about Mitt Romney. There are a number of compelling moments. Romney comes off as a loyal friend, a devoted family man, a savvy business executive and – through the stories of a dying teenager and a sick baby – a deeply decent, giving and thoughtful man in moments of human crisis. Says one friend of Mitt: “When it comes to helping your neighbour, we can talk about it – or we can live it. The Romneys live it, every single day.” Mitt Romney may be the first candidate who wants to become president so he can help fewer people.
8:50 Bob White, chairman of the Romney-Ryan campaign: “For 30 years, I have been at Mitt Romney’s side when he did extraordinary things. As Mitt says, I’m his wingman.” I’m pretty sure neither of those guys knows what that word is generally accepted to mean.
9:16 Kerry Healey, who worked with Romney when he was governor of Massachusetts, rhymes off a number of impressive traits about Mitt and tells this little story: “Mitt was always a hands-on leader. When one of Boston’s tunnels collapsed, tragically killing a passenger in her car, Mitt didn’t blame others. He dove in and fixed the problem.” Wait: Mitt Romney raised the dead? That really feels like it should be a bigger part of his campaign. <Fade in.> “Hi, I’m Mitt Romney. Can Obama do THIS? [reanimates Elvis Presley].”
9:21 We move on to the 17th advocate for Mitt and the whole production begins to sound like that WKRP episode in which everyone is cajoled to describe Herb as “a hard worker, loyal husband and all-around fine person.” Delegates are starting to lose interest. Then, out of nowhere, a person who grew up with Mitt Romney, or worked with him, or was returned to this plane of existence from the spirit world by his hand, stares into the camera and firmly declares: “Mitt Romney will never apologize for America!” Yeah, because that happens a lot – because if there’s one thing there’s just too much of, it’s U.S. politicians and presidents going around and apologizing for America. SORRY. SORRY, WORLD. OUR BAD.
9:34 A group of former Olympians takes the stage to demonstrate their support for the Republican nominee. Hundreds of miles to the north, in a darkened room in Washington, a grim-faced Barack Obama takes note of the fact that Mitt Romney has won the allegiance of the 2007 world champion in skeleton. Obama’s heart sinks. He knows now the election is lost.
9:37 The Olympians make their case. “America is faltering. We need strong leadership, we need new leadership and we need it now.” – Some skeet shooter.
9:42 Mike Eruzione, captain of America’s Miracle on Ice hockey team, delivers a brief speech in which it becomes apparent that he a) supports Mitt Romney for president, and b) thinks “athletes” is pronounced with three syllables. Eruzione continues: “Mitt is a brilliant leader who is committed to the highest ideals and he is a wonderful and caring family man.” That’s pretty convincing – but the smart voter won’t make a final decision until there’s been some input from beach volleyballers and biathletes.
9:55 Welcome to the Obligatory Montage of Romney Home Videos, the part of the evening when millions of Americans realize that neither they nor their children have a hope of becoming president because they lack the required hours of endearing home-movie snippets that are Revealing of Character.
For instance, one of the things we’ve been told repeatedly this week is that Mitt Romney is frugal. It’s an appealing trait for a politician in a time of high deficits. But it turns out that what everybody’s actually been trying to say is: Mitt Romney is cheap as hell. Dude doesn’t even replace his stovetop light bulb with one of the correct size or wattage – he just jams in there some random oversized bulb he’d already purchased.
A former work colleague of Romney declares: “If he can save 50 cents on paperclips, he’d drive a mile to do it.” I ask you: Is this what America really wants in a president? Listen, soldier, I know you need a pair of cutters to snip that wire and defuse this bomb that is about to obliterate this vibrant downtown area – but I tell you what, here, let’s save the American people the eight bucks and I’ll just gnaw at it with my teeth.
10:02 Suddenly, Clint Eastwood is at the microphone. There is wild applause. Eastwood squints and smiles: “Save a little for Mitt.” Delegates laugh. OH HOW THEY LAUGH. They begin to mentally praise the genius political operative who secured Eastwood’s participation because this is exactly the kind of star power the Romney campaign needs in order to break through and– um, hang on, what’s Clint doing? Is he talking to a chair? He’s not talking to a chair? Oh, that’s a relief. For a moment there I thought he was– ah, so he’s talking to Invisible Barack Obama, who is apparently sitting in the chair? I don’t think that’s better.
[Three minutes of increasingly awkward “laughter” later...]
Well, sure, it’s a little unusual, I suppose. It’s a little unusual that it’s 10 o’clock on the final night of the Republican National Convention and the party’s presidential nominee is poised to deliver the biggest speech of his life and meanwhile a world-famous Hollywood celebrity is having a conversation with an invisible president. And sure, maybe it wouldn’t have hurt if Clint had worked from a script, or a few bullet points, or an idea that had progressed even a tiny bit beyond: Chair.
But it’s not like Eastwood is taking it too far or– um, hang on, did he just suggest that Invisibama had told him to go f— himself. He did? Oh, my. And did he actually just say: “Do you just… you know… I know… people were wondering… you don’t… handle that okay.” He did?
Oh, well, it’ll still be great to have Clint formally endorse Mitt and– um, what’s that? He’s not endorsing Mitt at all? In fact, to the contrary, he’s saying that all politicians are the same and “they’re just going to come around every few years and beg for votes?” Interesting. That’s interesting. [Gouges out own eyes to make the horror stop.]
(America can be so adorable sometimes. They regard their celebrities with such reverence that the Romney campaign – which was so obsessive about approving every word uttered by every speaker, and choreographing every image and moment – just went ahead and let an 82-year-old man walk out onto the stage in prime time with an empty chair, no script and some grade-A bed head. But speaking for myself, I realize I’ve got bigger problems to worry about: If invisible Obama is in Tampa, who’s watching my kids?)
10:17 Marco Rubio, the senator from Florida, arrives to introduce Mitt Romney. And you have to hand it to Rubio because he does it in a really interesting way. You know how usually the person who’s introducing the other person will talk about the person they’re introducing? Marco Rubio puts a bit of a fresh spin on that by instead speaking about the person who’s doing the introducing, ie. Marco Rubio. FYI, according to Marco Rubio, this Marco Rubio character is one hell of a guy. Also, by the way, Mitt Romney everyone!
10:36 Mitt Romney enters and walks through the hall, shaking hands. By the time he reaches the stage, Clint Eastwood has wandered out into the parking lot and is exchanging life stories with a Hyundai.
Romney’s speech may be remembered for a number of different elements. It may be remembered for the candidate’s touching remembrance of his father’s love for his mother. It may be remembered for its largely negative tone, a jarring contrast after two hours of hearing about Mitt the Eternal Optimist. It may be remembered for dubious feel-good lines like, “I have a plan to create 12 million jobs!” (Hint: It involves starting up three million boy bands.)
Many will remember it for a single line. It was a line that was crafted to help position Romney as the practical problem solver to Barack Obama’s hopey-changey dreamer. But it became something very different because of how delegates reacted to it.
Here’s how the line appeared in the text: “President Obama promised to begin to slow the rise of the oceans and heal the planet. My promise is to help you and your family.”
Here’s how it actually sounded: “President Obama promised to begin to slow the rise of the oceans [huge gales of laughter from Republican delegates, because massive, life-sustaining bodies of water are for pussies] and heal the planet [BWAHAHAHA. Suck it, science!].”
From there, the end of Romney’s speech pretty much wrote itself: “By way of closing, I say to my fellow Americans tonight: planets and oceans can be replaced. What can’t be replaced is the love we feel for our future island nation. If we’ve learned anything from the rigorous science of Waterworld, it’s that at least several of us will survive and adapt, possibly with rudimentary gills of some kind and then there’ll be no stopping us. May God bless the undersea kingdom of the United States of America!”
http://www2.macleans.ca/2012/08/31/republican-national-convention-all-hail-invisibama/
http://www2.macleans.ca/2012/08/31/republican-national-convention-all-hail-invisibama/
IOW, "we're going to lie as often, whenever, and about whatever we want to".
Sort of. All the jobs he's created were in his films.
lol Clint Eastwood comedy routine. Yawn
Maybe he just oughtta retire and spend his life eating ice cream and playing his piano.
It appears the republican election campaign is about winning and has little to nothing to do with policy or facts.
Clint got under Obama's skin
I guess maybe. :lol:
Hollywood may be bashing Clint Eastwood's performance at the GOP convention, but Rush Limbaugh said Friday the reason is that he touched a nerve with leftist celebrities — and with the president himself.
Pointing to the photo the Obama camp tweeted after midnight showing the back of the president's head above the office chair in the Oval Office, Mr. Limbaugh said that proves the White House was worried. And he wondered whether it was Mr. Obama himself.
"It must have gotten to him because he tweeted at 12:30," Mr. Limbaugh said Friday on his radio program.
He also said the reason Hollywood types have panned the speech is because they couldn't find anything to shoot at in Mitt Romney's acceptance address, so they fired at whatever target they could find.
In his appearance just before Mr. Romney's formal acceptance speech Thursday night in Tampa, Mr. Eastwood held a mock conversation with the president, represented by an empty chair.
Limbaugh: Clint got under Obama's skin - Washington Times
I guess maybe. :lol:
Hollywood may be bashing Clint Eastwood's performance at the GOP convention, but Rush Limbaugh said Friday the reason is that he touched a nerve with leftist celebrities — and with the president himself.
Pointing to the photo the Obama camp tweeted after midnight showing the back of the president's head above the office chair in the Oval Office, Mr. Limbaugh said that proves the White House was worried. And he wondered whether it was Mr. Obama himself.
"It must have gotten to him because he tweeted at 12:30," Mr. Limbaugh said Friday on his radio program.
He also said the reason Hollywood types have panned the speech is because they couldn't find anything to shoot at in Mitt Romney's acceptance address, so they fired at whatever target they could find.
In his appearance just before Mr. Romney's formal acceptance speech Thursday night in Tampa, Mr. Eastwood held a mock conversation with the president, represented by an empty chair.
Limbaugh: Clint got under Obama's skin - Washington Times
lol A photo of the back of DOHbama's head is proof of the fact his head has a back side. Limbaugh sure likes to strrrrrrrrrrreeeeeeeeeeeeeeeetttttttcccccccccchhhh
things.
... Everyone, including myself, has at one time or another misread a sentence from a teleprompter or from typed notes. And the liberal MSM and Obama's Chicago mafia will certainly make sure that everyone knows about Rubio's gaffe. But everyone knows exactly what he meant to say and why and many of us also know that he is an excellent speaker who has a reputation for wowing the crowds all over Florida and usually without the crutch of a teleprompter or even notes. The important thing is that taken as a whole the Rubio speech was first class and a fitting introduction of the party's new leader Mitt Romney.
- Eastwood is naturally a laconic, laid back guy and he is 82 years old and he was working without a script. Yes, he sometimes took awhile to get to the point and seemded to ramble a bit but he did get to the point several times as, for example, reminding people that the politicians are their employees and that Americans are part of an exceptional nation and that when someone can't do the job, especially the job of president, then it is time to cut him loose and that businessmen make better leaders of organizations than lawyers do and that Romney and Ryan are up to the job and deserving of the chance. Most of all, Clint delivered exactly what the GOP really wanted from him which was to ensure that millions of people who are not political junkies and are not strongly partisan would tune in to the networks at 10 o'clock just to see Dirty Harry the Hollywood legend ilive and in the flesh and most of these viewers would linger on after Eastwood finished his schtick and thereby hopefully get to know Romney a little more and be more inclinded to vote for him than they were before.
- For me, overall, it was a magnificent convention that faced squarely and demolished every one of the viscious fears and smears that the Donkey People - desperate to talk about anything but their dreadful record - have spent over a hundred million dollars in the past few months running TV commercials about.
- The phony War on Women was debunked by featuring women as at least half of the speakers on the first two nights and they were governors and congresswomen and others of real accomplishment with interesting personal stories to tell and persuasive reasons for being Republicans (the comments by the New Mexico governor were both effective and funny as she told about her and her husband as long time Democrats leaving a dinner with two senior Republicans and she leaning over to her husband and saying "You know, we're Republicans!"). Indeed, arguably the best and most thoughtful speech of the entire convention was delivered by a woman, Condi Rice, who didn't make Rubio's mistake because she was the only speaker there who didn't use a teleprompter and relied on her genius and a few brief points on a piece of paper.
- The bogus bull**** about the Republicans as racists and exclusionary was debunked because the majority of the speakers were women or blacks or latinos or a combination thereof and again these were not token Republicans but governors and senators and congressmen and other movers and shakers in the party. I particularly was impressed with Arturo Davis's speech directed towards independents and disaffected Democrats (as he was, having evolved from being dubbed the Alabama Obama and seconding Obama's nomination in 2008 to joining the GOP and campaiging for Romney in 2012).
- The blatant bullcrap about all business people and particularly venture capitalists and especially Romney being crooks and predators who were out to screw their customers and employees and everyone else and as quickly as possible was debunked last night by several speakers who had either worked with Mitt at Bain Capital or whose businesses were financed by Bain and who testified that Romney was far more than jut a financeer to them and their businesses and just the folks who spoke for Mitt last night on stage or on video represented successful companies employing some 200,000 jobs that would not exist today without Romney and Bain Capital.
- The Donkey People's downplaying and distorting of Romney's sterling record in rescuing the 2002 olympics and in turning around Taxachussetts was debunked by a line up of gold medal winning olympians and several of them knew Romney from 2002 and one of them even lived with the Romneys for awhile and all of them raved about his leadership in salvaging and making successful the 2002 olympics while his record as governor was extolled by the woman who served as his Lt. Governor and a black woman who served in his cabinet. The Lt. Governor praised Mitt's leadership in slaying the deficit, cutting taxes and encouraging job creation as governor and mentioned as an aside that Romney took no pay for his four years servfing his adopted state. (Can you imagine a Democrat, especially that cheap bastard Biden who usually gives .2% or less of his income to charity working as a governor or senator or anything else for nothing?) The black woman who served in Mitt's cabinet was especially compelling inasmuch as she declared herself to be both a life long liberal Democrat and a supporter of Romney both as governor and as candidate for president. She also noted that Romney was chosen in an independent study as being the top governor in the country in ensuring that women had access to top government positions. (If Romney is really engaged in war on women as repellent swine like Debbie Wassrerman Schultz contend, he is certainly losing the war.)
- Finally, the Democrats' dissembling and deceptions about Romney being a cold, unfeeling, selfish, uncaring, out of touch person who cannot relate to or want to help the average person were demolished by three non-political speakers who told of Mitt's really extraordinary compassion and support and friendship in very trying personal crisis. Perhaps the most poignant of these speakers were the elderly couple who told of how Mitt some thirty years ago befriended them and their 14 year old son who was dying of cancer, how he visited and comforted the kid in the hospital for many weeks and bought him a pricey fireworks display because the boy loved fireworks and he helped him with his will because the kid asked him to and then at the end he delivered the ulogy because the boy wanted Mitt to do so. There were many moist eyes in the audience before this story was finished!
- Bottom line, the GOP convention demolished the bankrupt Demcrats bogus bull**** about Romney and the GOP and the speeches landed some very heavy blows on Obama and the Donkey People and also laid a foundation for the battle of ideas that is still to come as Romney and Ryan with help from Rubio and Christie and others began to lay out an alternative vision for the country that will bemuch more appealing than the current situation of drift and despair not to mention the year end situation of falling off the economic and fiscal cliff. The Romney-Ryan ticket will lead and they will not avoid the major problems and they will focus on five priorities to restore business confidence and investment.
- As you have surmised, I am delighted with the way the GOP convention went and on the premis that Romney and Ryan win most of the debates and the recovery continues to be weak and a desperate Obama and his Chicago Mafia don't declare martial law and suspend the elections I hereby predict that the election is Romney`s to lose and that he might very well win very, very big.
- Eastwood is naturally a laconic, laid back guy and he is 82 years old and he was working without a script. Yes, he sometimes took awhile to get to the point and seemded to ramble a bit but he did get to the point several times as, for example, reminding people that the politicians are their employees and that Americans are part of an exceptional nation and that when someone can't do the job, especially the job of president, then it is time to cut him loose and that businessmen make better leaders of organizations than lawyers do and that Romney and Ryan are up to the job and deserving of the chance. Most of all, Clint delivered exactly what the GOP really wanted from him which was to ensure that millions of people who are not political junkies and are not strongly partisan would tune in to the networks at 10 o'clock just to see Dirty Harry the Hollywood legend ilive and in the flesh and most of these viewers would linger on after Eastwood finished his schtick and thereby hopefully get to know Romney a little more and be more inclinded to vote for him than they were before.
- For me, overall, it was a magnificent convention that faced squarely and demolished every one of the viscious fears and smears that the Donkey People - desperate to talk about anything but their dreadful record - have spent over a hundred million dollars in the past few months running TV commercials about.
- The phony War on Women was debunked by featuring women as at least half of the speakers on the first two nights and they were governors and congresswomen and others of real accomplishment with interesting personal stories to tell and persuasive reasons for being Republicans (the comments by the New Mexico governor were both effective and funny as she told about her and her husband as long time Democrats leaving a dinner with two senior Republicans and she leaning over to her husband and saying "You know, we're Republicans!"). Indeed, arguably the best and most thoughtful speech of the entire convention was delivered by a woman, Condi Rice, who didn't make Rubio's mistake because she was the only speaker there who didn't use a teleprompter and relied on her genius and a few brief points on a piece of paper.
- The bogus bull**** about the Republicans as racists and exclusionary was debunked because the majority of the speakers were women or blacks or latinos or a combination thereof and again these were not token Republicans but governors and senators and congressmen and other movers and shakers in the party. I particularly was impressed with Arturo Davis's speech directed towards independents and disaffected Democrats (as he was, having evolved from being dubbed the Alabama Obama and seconding Obama's nomination in 2008 to joining the GOP and campaiging for Romney in 2012).
- The blatant bullcrap about all business people and particularly venture capitalists and especially Romney being crooks and predators who were out to screw their customers and employees and everyone else and as quickly as possible was debunked last night by several speakers who had either worked with Mitt at Bain Capital or whose businesses were financed by Bain and who testified that Romney was far more than jut a financeer to them and their businesses and just the folks who spoke for Mitt last night on stage or on video represented successful companies employing some 200,000 jobs that would not exist today without Romney and Bain Capital.
- The Donkey People's downplaying and distorting of Romney's sterling record in rescuing the 2002 olympics and in turning around Taxachussetts was debunked by a line up of gold medal winning olympians and several of them knew Romney from 2002 and one of them even lived with the Romneys for awhile and all of them raved about his leadership in salvaging and making successful the 2002 olympics while his record as governor was extolled by the woman who served as his Lt. Governor and a black woman who served in his cabinet. The Lt. Governor praised Mitt's leadership in slaying the deficit, cutting taxes and encouraging job creation as governor and mentioned as an aside that Romney took no pay for his four years servfing his adopted state. (Can you imagine a Democrat, especially that cheap bastard Biden who usually gives .2% or less of his income to charity working as a governor or senator or anything else for nothing?) The black woman who served in Mitt's cabinet was especially compelling inasmuch as she declared herself to be both a life long liberal Democrat and a supporter of Romney both as governor and as candidate for president. She also noted that Romney was chosen in an independent study as being the top governor in the country in ensuring that women had access to top government positions. (If Romney is really engaged in war on women as repellent swine like Debbie Wassrerman Schultz contend, he is certainly losing the war.)
- Finally, the Democrats' dissembling and deceptions about Romney being a cold, unfeeling, selfish, uncaring, out of touch person who cannot relate to or want to help the average person were demolished by three non-political speakers who told of Mitt's really extraordinary compassion and support and friendship in very trying personal crisis. Perhaps the most poignant of these speakers were the elderly couple who told of how Mitt some thirty years ago befriended them and their 14 year old son who was dying of cancer, how he visited and comforted the kid in the hospital for many weeks and bought him a pricey fireworks display because the boy loved fireworks and he helped him with his will because the kid asked him to and then at the end he delivered the ulogy because the boy wanted Mitt to do so. There were many moist eyes in the audience before this story was finished!
- Bottom line, the GOP convention demolished the bankrupt Demcrats bogus bull**** about Romney and the GOP and the speeches landed some very heavy blows on Obama and the Donkey People and also laid a foundation for the battle of ideas that is still to come as Romney and Ryan with help from Rubio and Christie and others began to lay out an alternative vision for the country that will bemuch more appealing than the current situation of drift and despair not to mention the year end situation of falling off the economic and fiscal cliff. The Romney-Ryan ticket will lead and they will not avoid the major problems and they will focus on five priorities to restore business confidence and investment.
- As you have surmised, I am delighted with the way the GOP convention went and on the premis that Romney and Ryan win most of the debates and the recovery continues to be weak and a desperate Obama and his Chicago Mafia don't declare martial law and suspend the elections I hereby predict that the election is Romney`s to lose and that he might very well win very, very big.
Of course you are- You are an ideologue- Using a chair to simulate talking down to a President - well that was not only a poor setting- It was all they talked about- Romney was again eclipsed by events.
PS- Shorter posts vice a book length would be appreciated. While they like that on Ann Coulter here people appreciate some talking points- Not a book.