Who was more appalling—Clint Eastwood or Marco Rubio?

by Charlie Smith on Aug 31, 2012 at 8:30 am
Sen. Marco Rubio may have set himself up for a future presidential nomination.

Maybe it's a good thing that I don't review movies for the Georgia Straight.

I was mildly amused by Clint Eastwood's speech last night at the Republican National Convention. But judging from what was going on Twitter, the public clearly hated it. And so did Michael Moore.

I thought the Eastwood routine was far more enjoyable than listening to Republican senator Marco Rubio's repeated references to God and his unabashed embrace of U.S. exceptionalism.

I'm stunned that Washington Post writer Chris Cillizza could describe Rubio as "a MAJOR political star" and that his speech "was, without question, the best of the convention".

Does Cillizza want to live in a theocracy?

You can judge for yourself who offered a better performance by watching the videos below.


Clint Eastwood tries a different approach.


Marco Rubio offers God and U.S. exceptionalism to Republican delegates.


Follow Charlie Smith on Twitter at twitter.com/csmithstraight.

Comments (13) Add New Comment
Beth
Aug 31, 2012 at 10:16 am
The Republicans invited Dirty Harry and were surprised they got Clint Eastwood. Dude's 82. It's impressive that he's even still alive. He's a civilian, not a candidate. He's also, first and foremost, an artist who decided to push the envelope. Rightly, regardless whether you agree with his political stripe. It made people squirm who like to play it safe. On the other hand, Marco Rubio came off as a self-serving, self-important ass kisser (half Clint's age). Given that he wants to be taken seriously in the political arena, he should have been more practiced. So most definitely Rubio was more appalling. Clint was just entertaining. Anyone who knocks Eastwood's tentativeness and his shaky voice are not only ageist, they're missing the point.
Beth
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Dave Harper
Aug 31, 2012 at 11:57 am
Clint Eastwood provided some much needed levity in the midst of some self important speeches and positioning for next time, when/should Romney/Ryan come up short in November. The pundits need to drink beer, not Laphroaig.
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Mark Fornataro
Aug 31, 2012 at 12:31 pm
One thing that was pretty appalling by Eastwood was his slit throat motion re: getting rid of Obama, caught by ABC news cameras.
http://www.cbc.ca/news/yourcommunity/2012/08/clint-eastwoods-bizarre-spe...



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DavidH
Aug 31, 2012 at 1:00 pm
Please, oh please, if there really is a God, let George Clooney be the "surprise guest" at the Democratic Convention next week.

He wouldn't have to say a word. Just walk up to the podium, grin, and enjoy the wild laughter.

And Obama could say: "My celebrity is better than your celebrity!"
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A. MacInnis
Aug 31, 2012 at 1:15 pm
Are y'all aware of the Bad Lip Reading phenomenon? It uses political speeches and voice actors, and offers very creative, disrespectful, and borderline Dada-ist interpretations of what people are saying, based on their lip movements... flucking funny stuff!

Mitt Romney:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e9L9A1IMTQo&feature=relmfu

Rick Santorum:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=js3BYcHmBhE&feature=relmfu

Ron Paul: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=igQlbesF0zA

And while most targets seem to be Republicans, indeed, Barack Obama is here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ehYoIKTsiV0
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whatAjoke
Aug 31, 2012 at 3:16 pm
Oh Clint...

The lights are on but nobody's home...
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Anton
Aug 31, 2012 at 5:43 pm
whatAjoke:

Of all the criticisms you could draw from this, that was probably the worst. He's 82 and he still directs, produces, and stars in major films. Totally out to lunch.
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Call Me Skeptical.
Aug 31, 2012 at 7:53 pm
I kind of got a kick out of it.

He is a self described fiscal conservative, but on with progressive social causes. Sounds like a typical Canadian! I like that that pisses off all the left-wing AND the right wing extremists out there.

And hey, everyone is talking about him after this stint at RNC. He's got a new movie coming out in September. Surely, the two things are not unrelated.
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Pat Johnstone
Aug 31, 2012 at 8:13 pm
both guys were invoking invisible men. at least the one Clint was talking to actually exists.
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judi sommer
Aug 31, 2012 at 11:22 pm
Well, you have posed an interesting question. I love Clint as a writer-director for tackling different social and historical issues. however...
At first, I thought I was watching an audition for Harvey (an invisible white rabbit) as he talked to the empty chair. Great idea for a prop, meant to be a metaphor of sorts I suppose.However, it began to get disjointed and rambling,He doesn't have the standup comedy chops of a Billy Cystal and so put himself out on a limb. Some lines were quite funny but the overall performance bizarre with some risque moments where I thought the tea-baggers in the room would have a heart-attack.
As for Rubio! He is supposed to be a rising star and was widely touted as a possible Romney running mate. Christie delivered" red meat",and Rubio; Alternately boring or insufferable.Dunno, Charlie. It's a toss up! However, Isuspect that Clint's new film will get more of a bounce from his performance than Romney will from his speech at the convention,.
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blueheron
Sep 1, 2012 at 2:03 pm
Clint Eastwood's sharp and comedic routine, especially the part about politicians being the employees of Americans and when the President isn't doing his job, it's time to let him go. Because Clint isn't worshipful of the current occupier of the Oval Office, he sees the issues clearly. He brought down the roof and added levity to the evening. Marco Rubio was inspiring. Mitt Romney has the intelligence and leadership qualities to be a solid President. His subtle dig at Obama's over-the-top oratorial style was PERFECT.

Poor Obama has such tender skin his team felt compelled to Twitter a rebuttal to Clint Eastwood. Obama is a lightweight.
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e.a.f.
Sep 1, 2012 at 6:48 pm
Eastwood was by far the best on the stage. He didn't need a telaprompter. His speech, although not to my politican taste, was funny. It was a good presentation. Come to think about it he might be more on the ball than the rest of those politicians at the convention and he is 82.

I agree, George Cloney for Obama's "star" visitor. He just needs to stand there. The man is so good looking it is criminal. He also cares about people in other parts of the world.
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Evil Eye
Sep 2, 2012 at 9:26 am
It is sad to see Dirty Harry succumb to the early stages of Alzheimer's disease. Mind you, he is a good fit to a political party that suffers from terminal dementia!
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