Clint Eastwood's rambling speech at the Republican Party convention in which he addressed an empty chair occupied by an invisible Barack Obama has set the Internet abuzz. A new word has even been coined overnight—Eastwooding, with photos being posted online of people pointing at empty chairs just like Clint. Even the real Obama’s official Twitter account tried to get in on the Eastwooding hype. "This seat’s taken," @BarackObama tweeted with a photo of the President sitting in his own chair.
In addition to upstaging newly-anointed Republican nominee Mitt Romney, Clint's performance was also a gift for cartoonists. The above cartoon is by Bob Englehart from the Hartford Courant (you can see more Clint cartoons here). What I like about Bob's cartoons is that, unlike most cartoonists, he usually provides a (sometimes controversial) commentary to go with them. Here's what he has to say about Clint's convention speech:I'm a Clint fan. Well, I was until I found out he's a Republican. I'm joking. I didn't see his performance last night, but I heard plenty and saw plenty on the Internet the next day. Now I fear he's become a pathetic old man who wandered away from the home. Couldn't someone at least have combed his hair?
If I were an actor, I'd keep my politics to myself. Guys like Eastwood, Alec Baldwin and George Clooney who wear their politics on their sleeve don't do themselves any favors. Just because an actor likes a particular brand of politics doesn't mean squat. I've met plenty of actors and for the most part, they're empty vessels waiting to be told who to be.
I'll give Clint the benefit of the doubt and tell myself that he was talked into this debacle. Either that, or I'll blame it on the director.
Ouch! Bob certainly doesn't mince his words!
LANGUAGE NOTES
1. The title of the cartoon plays on the word misfire. If a gun misfires, the bullet is not sent out as it should be when the gun is fired. And if a plan misfires, it goes wrong and does not have the results you intend it to have.
2. The cartoon shows Clint shooting Romney in the foot (in both feet, to be exact). This seems to be a deliberate reference to the idiom to shoot yourself in the foot, which means to make a situation worse for oneself by accident. Usually, you don't shoot somebody else in the foot, but you could argue that Romney shot himself in the foot (or the Republicans did) by inviting Clint to speak.
ALSO SEE
• ‘Eastwooding’ Becomes Internet Sensation (Newsy Video)
• Clint Eastwood addresses the 2012 Republican National Convention (YouTube video)
• Clint Eastwood didn't exactly make Team Romney's day (Los Angeles Times)
• Clint Eastwood's Empty Chair Speech / Eastwooding (Know Your Meme)
• Clint Eastwood chair speech provides baffling highlight at Romney coronation (The Guardian)
• Blower comment cartoon (The Telegraph)
