Dirty Harry steals the Republicans’ show
The whole point of a national convention is to get the previously disengaged public talking about your candidate, hopefully in positive ways.
The main talking point after last night in Tampa was the Good, the Bad and the empty chair. Clint Eastwood didn’t steal the show. He performed armed robbery on it. I was in the hall watching the Romney family closely when an old age pensioner version of Dirty Harry with wispy grey hair told an empty chair and a bemused audience that Obama had asked Mitt to …himself.
Or as Clint put it…..”I can’t tell him -Romney- to do that to himself.”
Clint thought the joke was so good he repeated it twice, ignoring the flashing red light that informed the screen legend his time on the podium was up.
That’s the problem with getting Hollywood stars to perform at live political events. They think they can just do another take. Presumably no one had the cojones to tell Clint to …..himself.
The actor director then moved to the main point. It was time to let “the president” go like any employee who has under performed.
Dirty Harry concluded his senior moment by drawing a doddery finger across his throat.
The hall went wild but watching from their box the spray-on smiles of the Romney family cracked like plaster.
The Romneys have been in politics long enough to spot the perils. Luckily for the campaign the TV screens had cut away from Clint’s throat cutting.
America remained largely oblivious to it otherwise today’s water cooler conversations would be dominated by discussions of lynching.
In his speech Mitt Romney also made the point that Obama had to be fired on grounds of incompetence.
But Mitt was not only more subtle he also seemed to grasp the curious psychology of this election, which is about so much more than a change in chief executive at a time when the firm is doing badly and the share price has tanked.
The last election was deeply personal for America. Millions of Democrats invested their yearnings in a candidate who Oprah called The One.
Millions of Republicans felt good about electing America’s first black president. They were part of history. They had done their bit to exorcise the country’s unseemly past.
As Obama always said himself during the campaign: “this election is about YOU!” 2008 was personal.
The last four years have felt more like a marriage in which the best memories are the wedding day itself and all that came afterwards- the kids, the fights, the bills, the mortgage have been a bit of a let down and certainly a slog.
So what Mitt Romney is asking America to do is consider divorce. 2012 is about break up.
From his speech yesterday he seemed to understand that this is a painful, personal decision for the wavering voters who make the difference between victory and defeat. He didn’t berate them.
Like a divorce lawyer he asked them to sit on the couch and weigh up their options. “Is this really working? What’s the point of soldiering on for four more years if the day you elected Obama is the best day you have had together so far?”
Next week Barack Obama will bring out the wedding album and say to the same crowd: “Times have been tough, I know. But let’s give this one more chance. Think of the kids.”
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