‘When somebody does not do the job, we gotta let ’em go’
— a not-so-veiled reference  to  President Barack Obama

‘WE OWN THIS COUNTRY,’ HE DECLARES;
‘POLITICIANS ARE EMPLOYEES OF OURS’
 
By Alan Z. Forman
 
Republican or Democrat, Libertarian or whatever, anyone who watched Clint Eastwood in his “Dirty Harry” persona at the Republican National Convention with an open mind last week would have to agree that the 82-year-old iconic actor/director has a future as a standup comic.

Deviating from the highly scripted, carefully vetted, rehearsed and pre-approved speeches of the various politicians, GOP elected officials and Romney Family members, Hollywood legend Dirty Harry made the day of the nearly 5,000 convention delegates and alternates plus untold millions of television viewers — if not the 15,000 credentialed media and TV talking heads who roundly criticized him for what many termed a “rambling, off-color performance.”

In a mock one-way conversation with an absentee President Obama, imagined to be sitting on an empty stool, Eastwood twice responded to an unvoiced suggestion from the President that he and GOP presidential nominee Mitt Romney — whose acceptance speech was to follow later in the evening — do something sexual to themselves that is physically and biologically impossible.

Hence the “off-color” charge by national news media critical of Eastwood’s performance — which was in fact a highly comedic presentation, not a speech.

View the Eastwood performance in its entirety by clicking here:  (http://bcove.me/10nfbyfz)

Embarrassing maybe — judging from the facial expressions of some of the delegates, including a blank-faced vice presidential nominee Paul Ryan — but entertaining nonetheless. And not nearly as off-color as what one sees and hears nightly on the various television network talk shows.

Nor hardly as disrespectful as the many talking heads, pundits and reporters who frequently described — and still continue to describe — George W. Bush as “stupid,” failing to recognize that the former President’s academic record is as good if not better than that of his successor.

ONLY PRESIDENT TO HAVE EARNED AN M.B.A.

Bush attended two Ivy League universities and is the only U.S. President to have earned an M.B.A.

At another interval Eastwood got a big laugh — one of many throughout his 12 minutes on the convention stage at the Tampa Bay Times Forum — when, upon criticizing Obama’s performance on the job, he interjected, ostensibly quoting the President, “What do you mean, ‘Shut up!’?

“I’m not going to shut up, it’s my turn!” he responded later.

It was a breath of fresh air at an otherwise stodgy event, which national political conventions, Republican and Democrat alike, are wont to be. Instead of reading from a teleprompter, the Academy Award-winning director and producer appeared to be ad-libbing his talk, thereby giving a false sense, considering his gravelly voice and sometimes hesitating delivery, that he was rambling, leading to an almost universal media rush to judgment that his talk was poorly delivered and disrespectful.

But the audience loved it, despite the media pundits’ reaction, many of whom alleged he had stolen nominee Romney’s thunder and detracted from serious analysis of the evening’s events.

No one seemed to take note of the fact that an enormously popular Hollywood personality was roundly criticizing the President of the United States for his poor performance of the last four years and heartily endorsing the candidacy of the man who hopes to succeed him, although even the most partisan pundits credited Eastwood with delivering a hard-hitting line that brought the crowd to its feet with thunderous applause:

“When somebody does not do the job, we gotta let ’em go!”

He also got heavy applause when he said the President had failed and that it’s “time for somebody else to come along and solve the problem.”

‘A DISGRACE, A NATIONAL DISGRACE’

It is “a disgrace, a national disgrace,” the self-described “movie tradesman” declared, that 23 million people in this country are unemployed.

Referring to the tears of joy by Democrats on Obama’s election night four years ago, he said: “Everybody [was] crying, Oprah [Winfrey] was crying, I was even crying; I haven’t cried that hard since I found out that there’s 23 million unemployed people in this country.

“Now that is something to cry for. Because that is a disgrace, a national disgrace, and we haven’t done enough, this administration hasn’t done enough to cure that…”

Referring to Obama and Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr., both of whom have law degrees, he said, “I never thought it was a good idea for attorneys to be president anyway,” adding, “I think it’s maybe time for a businessman… a stellar businessman” — an obvious reference to Mitt Romney — to lead the country.

He then called Obama “absolutely crazy. You’re gettin’ as bad as Biden!” he declared, to the audience’s delight, adding, “‘Course we all know Biden is the intellect of the Democratic Party, just… kind of a grin with a body behind it.”

He concluded on a more serious note by telling the delegates and all America:  “You’re the best in the world… you’re the best and we should not ever forget that. And when somebody does not do the job, we gotta let ’em go… let ’em go…”

“You, we, we own this country… yes, we own it….. Politicians are employees of ours.”

And then, with everyone on their feet, he led the audience in a final cheer:  “I’ll start it,” he said, “you finish it:  Go ahead..

“Make.. my.. day!”
 
alforman@voiceofbaltimore.org