A salute to Clint Eastwood

I thought there was a kind of genius in Clint Eastwood’s endorsement of Romney in his appearance at the RNC last night. The party conventions have become so controlled and scripted, you have to wonder if we’ll ever see its like again.

I acknowledge that reasonable people can disagree about this — the Los Angeles Times calls it “a stunt that may go down in history as the strangest televised moment in convention history” — but I thought it was funny throughout and hilarious in parts. It was interesting. It was real. It was unscripted. It was ingenious. It had an air of authentic unpredictability about it. It looked like a high-wire act without a net. And it packed a punch.

Eastwood is one of a kind. Since John Wayne departed for parts unknown, there is nobody else quite like him. I credit the highly cautious Romney people with taking a chance on Eastwood’s appearance. I think it worked. Here, in case you missed it, is the video.

Quotable quotes: “Of course, Biden is the intellect of the Democratic Party.”

“We own this country….Politicians are employees of ours. They’re just going to come around and beg for votes every few years.”

“When somebody does not do the job, we’ve got to let him go.”

JOHN adds: I didn’t know what to make of Eastwood’s–what? I think maybe the best characterization is performance art–last night, and I still don’t. But Glenn Reynolds pulls together some positive reactions from people I respect.

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