The most significant fact about last night’s GOP convention finale may be that Here Comes Honey Boo Boo got better ratings. Of these two prime time programs, one was a reality show about a tribe of clueless rednecks, and the other starred a mouthy little girl with a pet pig.
Everybody’s talking today about Clint Eastwood’s bizarre stand-up act. I believe it must have been bizarre, because I did a news google for “Eastwood bizarre” and got more than 14,000 hits. I take it the crowd in Tampa ate it up, but it sounds even more cringe-inducing that Honey Boo Boo.
My impression overall is that the whole convention was weirdly unfocused. And IMO this is in large part because Republicans can’t decide who they are running against. Steve Kornacki writes that Romney thinks he is running against Jimmy Carter, for example. His acceptance speech was supposed to cast himself as Reagan versus the bumbling peanut farmer Reagan ran against in 1980. I personally don’t think Jimmy Carter himself was that Jimmy Carter, although it’s a debatable point. But Barack Obama is way not that Jimmy Carter. Not even close.
David Firestone writes that in his speech, Romney addressed the President as if he were a wayward child whose behavior had been disappointing. I can’t imagine that’s going to work on anyone, frankly.
Other parts of the Republican Party, of course, are opposing Barack “Saul Alinsky” Obama, subversive radical. And some are opposing Barack “Stepin Fetchit” Obama, affirmative action hire. Meanwhile, the real Barack Obama probably is feeling pretty good about his chances right now.
Nate Silver says we won’t know how big a bounce Mittens got from the convention until early next week, so just ignore any headlines about a bounce until then. Mittens needs at least a four-point bounce if he’s got a shot at overtaking the President, Nate says. Nate’s graphs currently have the President’s chance of winning getting larger, and Mitt’s smaller.
And then there will be the Dem convention, and the debates. Heh.
There is some very funny Twitter stuff re Clint’s speech, but the best tweet by far came from the Obama campaign: “This seat’s taken.”
(Runner-up: “Whaddaya mean the green screen didn’t work? I must’ve looked crazy!”)
the whole convention was weirdly unfocused
Doesn’t that describe the Romney campaign in a nutshell?
Romney’s only chance is a big bounce now, and then hang-on for dear life until November. And some where in there Obama goes into a coma. You knew the Eastwood thing was gonna hurt because the Romney campaign was sending out spin while Romney was delivering his speech. Biggest campaign speech or Romney’s life and his handlers are out doing damage control. I think these guys are one gaffe away from getting landslided (or landslud, if you’re a Dizzy Dean fan).
The RNC WTF Moment: Clint Eastwood, talking to an empty chair.
Why not an empty chair, when their candidate is an empty suit?
Clint – ‘The Mystery Guest!’
Jayzoos H. Keerist in a full-body cast, THAT was painful to watch.
And what was with Clint’s hair?
All of the hairdressers were busy carefully molding Mitt’s famous black & gray coiffure – using cultivated French bee’s wax to keep it in place, and adrenal fluid drawn from poor adolescent Greek boys, for that youthful sheen?
Or was it left that way on purpose by Clint, in his role as a Director, letting the hair be symbolic of his speech?
Old, gray, and not going in any particular direction.
Uhm… and btw Clint, before you rail against the President being a lawyer, guess who ALSO has a Law Degree?
Willard “Mitt” Romney!
YES!
YOUR pick to replace that ‘other’ lawyer.
Clint – did you not know that, forget it, or throw that knowledge away, along with your dignity?
It’s just that sfter graduating with that law degree, Mitt chose to be the only form of life lower than being a Corporate Attorney –a vulture capitalist.
“I WANT MY CLINT EASTWOOD BACK!”
Rubio was pretty good, from what I hear. I didn’t want to ‘waste my beautiful mind’ – or what’s left of it – watching that Carnival of Nasty, Mendacious, Conservative Assclowns.
And then, Mitt spoke.
And Pericles wept.
But no one could hear him, because Socrates was still laughing at Clint’s use of the chair, and his clever take on ‘The Socratic Method.’
Socrates NEVER thought of asking questions of any empty furniture!
He probably thought he’d have gotten some better answers if he did.
And then he rememberd his disciples.
“Oh,” Socrates thought, “If only that Plato had 1/2 the personality of that chair!”
“My impression overall is that the whole convention was weirdly unfocused”
If there was any focus it was to suggest that president Obama said something he never actually said, the whole you didn’t build it B.S. It’s really telling that with all the money and supposed “political talent” that they rested the entire theme of their show on a comment that has to be deceptively edited to receive the desired response. Between that and the lame celebrities and even lamer musical “talent”, the whole show was mediocre at best, much like the republicant party. The one speech that stands out is the new tea-bagger star Ted Cruz, the man looks, talks and moves like a door to door vacuum salesman, I’m always surprised to see just how stupid the modern republican has become, it’s sad really.
I felt a strange sadness watching Gingrich slipping into the dustbin of history. Life can be cruel.
Speaking of Newt — I see that he and Callista co-deliered a speech. Somehow it reminded me of back when Robert Goulet was never on television without Carol Lawrence.
Callista doesn’t really have a huge head. Her neck is so skinny that it only makes it appear that way.
From what I saw on the intertubes of Newt and Callista, Steve Lawrence and Eydie Gormé, and Sonny and Cher, and their reputations have little to worry about.
Burns and Allen, on the other hand…
Ah-h-h-h, what snark. In the vein of the late and sorely missed, Molly Ivins.
You are so-o-o-o good, Maha.
Maha, LOVE the hunny boo boo / RNC comparison.
Mitt says Obama has thrown Israel under the bus; Well he just threw them an extra 50 million. If that’s getting thrown under the bus, toss my ass down there too!
Let’s not forget that Israel has thrown Rachel Corrie under the bulldozer and few seem to know, even fewer seem to care.
Looking back at the pack of goofballs that comprised the republican candidates, it’s no wonder Romney was selected. Newt is a mean spirited pompous ass hole, the party doesn’t even want to claim Perry, Bachmann, or Paul. Herman Cain is destined to be a perrenial late night talk show guest, and Huckabee will be selling snake oil on FOX for the next decade.
All of the hairdressers were busy carefully molding Mitt’s famous black & gray coiffure – using cultivated French bee’s wax to keep it in place, and adrenal fluid drawn from poor adolescent Greek boys, for that youthful sheen?
Ow. Carbonated beverage is now in nasal passages. Ow!
Rand son of Ron could surely take some lessons from Obama in teleprompter reading. Not that he had anything worthwhile to say, but I was so distracted by his eye movements as he read his drivel off the teleprompter..I didn’t catch a word of it. Fortunately!
“Oprah was crying”
I didn’t watch and I still laughed!
“the whole convention was weirdly unfocused” is understandable when the entire job/function/goal of the Republican Party since the inauguration of Obama ha been to make sure that he does not get a second term. Didn’t Mitch say so on the floor of the Senate? Focusing, acting are impossible when one is limited to reacting and reacting alone.
By the way, I thought maybe Romney would lay out at least one proposal last night – you know, the proposal that is required in the real world when one is bidding for a job, the proposal on how you intend to do the job, how you will accomplish what you are committing yourself to accomplish? (Knowing that his father gave his mother a rose every day doesn’t quite qualify as a proposal.)
Felicity …Mitch is now saying that Obama’s second term is going to be more of the same.. the messaage is.. We’ll continue to destroy this country to prevent that nigger from getting one ounce of recognition. You’ve brought it on yourselves by abandoning your anglo-saxon heritage.
There’s a voice that’s crying out from the wilderness of my mind…It’s saying: “Rise up, and live out the true meaning of your creed”
WOW! Speak about divine confirmation. The invisible hand placed my last comment at 3:16. In the Repuglican Bible, Book of Hatred 3:16, it reads…”For the GOP so loved its racism that it destroyed its only begotten country”
I’m blown away! This is more than just seeing Jesus in the spaghetti stuff.This is real.