Ellen Robinson
When Clint Eastwood, 82, prepared for his speech at the Republican National Convention, I’m sure he imagined his chair piece to be a hilarious joke that people would be talking about for a long time. However, it ended up being a joke gone wrong.
Watching Eastwood “converse” with the chair was strange and awkward. He couldn’t get his joke out without stumbling over his words. At times it seemed like he forgot what he was talking about. It seemed more like a roast on Comedy Central than a speech informing me of why I should vote for Mitt Romney instead of President Barack Obama.
I can respect an opinion that differs from mine. In fact, I was ready to hear the reasons why he feels Romney would be the better person for the job. However, the invisible chair distracted me from his point and overshadowed the rest of his speech. In addition to the speech being awkward and distracting, it was also disrespectful. Obama is our president. Making jokes that could be taken as mean or dirty is inappropriate because of the setting Eastwood was in. Eastwood was not at home with buddies. He was on a nationally televised program that could be seen by different ages and types of people where his joke could easily be taken out of context. Eastwood’s speech left me confused. Judging by other stories in the media, he also left others missing the point.
Raveres Conner
Clint Eastwood did a very good job moving and capturing the attention of the crowd. I would like to speak that well at 82 years old.
The significance of the speech is in what he said and how he said it.
Maybe Eastwood didn’t realize that Mitt Romney has the same Harvard Law degree as President Barack Obama, but where you came from doesn’t dictate how you help lead a people. What really matters is having a passion for leading the people you represent. This is true if you’re a Harvard or FAMU graduate.
As far as his speech with the chair goes, there was a lot of hidden symbolism that came with his depiction of Obama. Picking a small chair for Eastwood to talk down to as opposed to a high chair was done intentionally. The use of the chair imposes a sense of superiority that Eastwood felt toward Obama.
The length and content of Eastwood’s speech showed an oversight of authority. His speech went seven minutes over the allotted five-minute time frame. Eastwood also refused to submit his speech content in advance. The actor supposedly winged the entire scenario.
I still respect Eastwood as an actor, person and humanitarian. His presence as a senior citizen in Tampa was definitely a plan to rally the senior citizen vote.