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DarkSteven -> RE: Did the RNC take advantage of a senile old man? (8/31/2012 3:41:46 AM)
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First off, a disclaimer: I did not see Eastwood's speech. I'm going by reviews, which found it a weird piece of performance art, one which went on longer than expected and pushed Romney's speech past 11 PM EST.
That said, Eastwood's had a long, impressive career, and nothing he said or did will affect that. I imagine that this might burnish his cred as the guy who did it HIS way at the RNC.
Which brings up the other question: how will this affect Romney?
A convention is the ultimate show. You have dozens of speakers, and each one is carefully chosen. Condi Rice, for example, was likely a controversial choice because she's an accomplished speaker, and an intelligent, accomplished black woman, the sort of diversity the GOP is working to show. On the other hand, she represents the link to eight years that the GOP is trying to suggest never happened. Santorum was necessary, both as the main challenger to Romney and also as a link to the far right wing. Everything at the convention is supposed to be tightly thought, rethought, and choreographed.
And Romney blew it. This convention was the worst choreographed, most undisciplined since the 1968 Democratic convention. The 1968 convention was uncontrollable because the nomination was not clear going in. In 2012, Romney had 80% of the delegates and a guaranteed first round victory. His inability to control his own party at an event he should have effortlessly controlled, is stunning. Before the convention, he did make up with Santorum and to some degree with Gingrich. But it was obvious that he had made no effective attempts to bring Ron Paul and his supporters into the fold, and Paul actually basically refused to endorse Romney. When Romney violated his own rules to try to squelch participation by the grass roots, the Paul delegation at whom that was aimed protested, and has been sore throughout the convention. The speakers all spoke on Obama's failings and on the general GOP vision, but remained lukewarm in Romney's support. And the also-rans Cain, Huntsman, Bachmann, and Perry were absent. Finally, Clint Eastwood is permitted to do some bizarre piece of performance art. It's clear that Romney does not have real control over his own party.
In contrast, Obama in 2008 worked his ass off to reach out to the Clintons after he wrested control of the party away from them. He has been working to unite the party and even invited Carter and John Kerry to the 2012 DNC convention, a politically risky move.
Rupert Murdoch and Jack Welch both told Romney that he needed to get rid of the amateurs managing his campaign and get some pros. Appears like he ignored them.
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