Tim Cahill: Eastwood and Clinton Steal Convention Shows

Tuesday, September 11, 2012

Tim Cahill, GoLocalWorcester MINDSETTER™

Tim Cahill, GoLocalWorcester MINDSETTER™

Who would have thought that after all the control and choreography of the past two weeks in Tampa and Charlotte; where the spotlight was squarely on the diversity of the rising stars of each party, that two, old white guys would be the ones everybody remembered. But that is exactly what happened. Clint Eastwood, age 82, and Bill Clinton, age 66, literally stole the show at each convention with largely unscripted depictions of President Barack Obama.

First in Tampa, it was Clint's very shaky and sometimes loopy riff with an empty chair that brought the house down and sent the folks at CNN into full head-scratching mode. In ways that the rest of the Republicans couldn't or wouldn't do, Clint was making it up as he went along. This meant that you had to keep watching for the entire 12-minute routine because you had no idea how it was going to turn out. It was real and visceral. I for one was half expecting him to reprise his role in "A Fist Full of Dollars" and shoot someone if they tried to forcibly remove him from the stage.

Here was one of the most iconic actors of the last fifty years, who has successfully reinvented himself as one of Hollywood's most respected directors, talking to and about Barack Obama as no one else would dare do. It was biting, satirical and funny all at the same time. And most of all, it was effective. According to Clint, it was time for Obama to be fired because he had failed to bring America back as he had promised. Everyone else at the convention, including Romney himself, tip-toed around Obama, afraid to say directly what many in the hall believed: that they didn't like him. Leave to Clint to reprise his role in "Gran Torino" as the grumpy old conservative, unafraid to say what's on his mind, no matter who it offends.

Then there was Bill Clinton, the former president being invited back in from the cold, to rescue a man who he fought with and belittled four years earlier, describing his candidacy then as a "fairy tale." Clinton was needed now to remind people of the success of the last Democrat to be re-elected and how under his leadership the economy boomed. He was brought in to remind the audience how challenging the job was and how Obama was progressing as well as could be expected given the hand he was dealt upon entering the White House.

It was a virtuoso performance and the highlight of the convention. And what made it "must-see tv" was the fact that he was making most of it up as he went along. Clinton has that special gift of "feeling an audience"(no pun intended) and giving it what it is asking for. As he began to sense that the crowd at the convention wanted entertainment mixed in with the policy, he gave it to them. His best line was speaking of Paul Ryan as if he was some "wise-ass kid" in class, referring to his "brass" in criticizing Democrats for stealing from Medicaid when his budget did the same thing. The only thing missing was the empty chair as Ryan.

Then again, Clinton is too good and too important a figure to be stealing anyone else's props. Besides, he was able to make the delegates on the floor, as well as those Americans watching from home, imagine the Romney-Ryan ticket as vacant without the need of an empty chair. He was deft at slicing and dicing the Republicans without scowling or raising his voice. And even when he was at his self-indulgent and long winded best, he always remembered to bring it back to the man he was up there to endorse.

It is no coincidence that the two most remembered personalities and speeches of the past two weeks were delivered by two cultural icons. Even the most self-important party operatives and consultants were afraid to vet either of these men's speeches or reign them in when they went over the line. It reinforced my earlier perception of the modern convention as overly scripted and controlled by political operatives who are always coaching their candidates against speaking the truth, and who underestimate the intelligence of voters. It may be the last time two old, white guys get to speak uncontrolled and honestly before a national audience at one of these conventions. Maybe we can add one more debate to the schedule before November 6th: Eastwood versus Clinton.