February 6, 2012

Clint Eastwood's "Halftime in America" Super Bowl commercial features the Wisconsin protests.

Click to jump to the exact part of the commercial:



Say what you want about Eastwood's approval of the auto bailouts, I'm excited to see the statue of the Civil War hero Hans Christian Heg, which — you may remember — Meade defended on 3 separate occasions last year during the protests: March 2 (Meade removes a sign), March 13 (Meade removes a "Solidarity" T-shirt); March 21 (Meade washes off "Workers of the World Unite").

And, by the way, Clint Eastwood played a crucial role in getting Meade and me together, so there was also that.

220 comments:

1 – 200 of 220   Newer›   Newest»
Scott M said...

And, by the way, Clint Eastwood played a crucial role in getting Meade and me together, so there was also that.

One or both of you likes orangutans?

m stone said...

Actually, it was the man in shorts that played the most crucial role.

Hoosier Daddy said...

"... One or both of you likes orangutans?.."

Wow...lmao!

X said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Methadras said...

Populist bullshit.

Tim said...

One would think a guy who made a film with a Ford in the title would know better than to whore out his considerable talents for tax-payer bailed-out auto companies who's labor contracts finally metastasized and turned septic.

Oh well. He must not have been one of Chrysler's bond holders who's property rights were expropriated by the Dali Obama.

Lipperman said...

Detroit is the model for America?

Detroit is a shithole.

bagoh20 said...

When you start telling everyone that you are coming back and not defeated yet, it pretty much means you think you really are helpless.

It's like when people tell you how honest they are, how good they are at their job, or how smart they be, I immediately assume the opposite.

And worst of all is that the characters Eastwood is famous for would never think of telling you they are coming back. It's always the cowards around him doing that. Clint, what happened to you?

Michael said...

All very nice but Chrysler still builds remarkably ugly cars. I have always been impressed with the utter lack of taste that the designers of this brand exhibit. Can it be that they are not allowed out of Detroit? That they are not permitted to drive or observe other automobiles built by successful companies? Do they have to carve their designs out of balsa wood as in days of old? It is really quite baffling. I will predict that we have to bail them out a third time.

Hoosier Daddy said...

Did anyone else think the commercials sucked this year?

Hoosier Daddy said...

"... hmm, Meade's deleting posts again..."

Try not being a troll for 5 minutes and see how that works.

Ann Althouse said...

"Actually, it was the man in shorts that played the most crucial role."

Are you falling for the incorrect interpretation of the "I'll wear my pants" comment?

Scott M said...

Detroit is a shithole.

I was doing dishes at this point and would stop now and then to watch the commercials or a good replay. I watched this on up until Clint got to "Detroit" at which time I turned the water back and on and promptly dismissed Gunny Harry as having lost his mind.

Curious George said...

This "we all rallied around what is right and acted as one" is a load of crap. I mean even WWII had it's dissenters. And there is n oway that the left will ever let go of anything...especially Walker's reforms. Even after they get crushed in the recall, the will cling and scheme.

Amartel said...

Buy a Ford.

garage mahal said...

They scrubbed what the plaque reads though, and some of the signs.

I was told a funny story by a CIO at a large Atlanta company describing him out jogging in the morning while in town on business, and coming across the Hans Christian Heg statue. He looked up, read the plaque, spit, and kept jogging. Nice guy though. He told it much funnier of course. All these years, and still not over it.

Joaquin said...

Eh Clint! Starting the second half 37-0. Ya think we should bring in new players?

shiloh said...

"Try not being a troll for 5 minutes and see how that works."

Time for another useless moderation thread ie this blog has a plethora of both conservative and dem "trolls" too numerous to mention.

By definition, "good faith" = not off/topic and not personal.

And this blog exudes childish personal attacks, especially from cons.

yada yada yada

James said...

Recent headlines:

November 15, 2011
The secret report Detroit officials don’t want you to see says city is running out of cash

January 5, 2012
Confident Bing says Detroit won't run out of cash

Michael said...

I watched the entire ad again. Detroit as a template for America is an insult of the highest order. Not only is the rest of America not like Detroit, the rest of America is not looking at it being half over. In fact, the country has done pretty goddamn well considering the fact that it has had to operate with a liberal headwind for fifty years. The nine out of ten people who are working are not thinking they want to bust it to be like Detroit or to make enough to finance a fucking Chrysler. The city of Detroit is the lab we need to observe carefully because it is the exactly perfect outcome of liberalism. And it is not at halftime, it is on the verge of being taken over by outsiders who will administer what the citizens cannot. Bad fucking example Clint.

Michael said...

Shiloh typed "yada yada yada."

edutcher said...

Madame, you have more guts (or discernment) than most women.

A guy offering to wear his pants on a date would strike many as de rigeur.

(I know...)

Curious George said...

This "we all rallied around what is right and acted as one" is a load of crap. I mean even WWII had it's dissenters.

Only after it became a war to save Communism (Lillian Hellman, anyone?) did we act as one.

Time for Rowdy to go back and make a couple more drives with Mr Favor and Wishbone.

Alex said...

Clint clearly has late-stage dementia, forgive him.

ic said...

"Halftime in America" meaning we'll only have 200+ more years? The Romans had their 1000+, the Brits 600+, on the other hand the Weimar and the Soviet had much less.

paminwi said...

Initially, I thought - ok - not great, but ok. Then I heard David Axelrod liked the commercial and tweeted about and then I thought - what the hell is going on here? NBC is up to their eyeballs in starting their re-election campaign for Obama in the middle of the Super Bowl?

I honestly HATED the Chevrolet commercial - putting down Ford when they were the only damn car company NOT to take bailout cash? Hey assholes at GM - pay me back my money - NOW!

prairie wind said...

Interesting to see the "halftime in America" ad from an Italian carmaker. Ah...Clint is nostalgic for those spaghetti westerns.

Known Unknown said...

I'm a sucker for the Imported From Detroit campaign.

I want to believe that there is a return to prosperity there, and a return to some kind of glory.

However, I think that it will have to be wholly new companies that can move us forward, as opposed to the relics of the Detroit Iron Age.

X said...
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Dust Bunny Queen said...

I have lost a great deal of respect for Clint Eastwood, maybe all of it.

It may be difficult to go to his movies in the future.

Our tax dollars at work bailing out one company and bashing another (Ford)

Half time in America evidently means taking from one group of people with out their consent (taxpayers) and giving money to other more favored groups (unions)so that one group of politicians can keep the gravy train chugging along.

If he had done this 'commercial' without using Government Motors money (ours really) and had kept it a-political, I might have some respect left.

Sorry Clint. You have totally lost me and don't expect me to give you another dime.

DADvocate said...

Clint's just proving that actors do almost anything for money. Chrysler can't run an ad good enough to by one of their vehicles.

MadisonMan said...

But you did notice that the sign messages were photoshopped, right, in the Eastwood ad?

The original video is here, at about 2:20.

Amartel said...

Clint's got old guy syndrome. People reach a certain age and they just stop paying attention to details. It's not alzheimers. It's just they don't have time to waste and can't be bothered to tell bullshit from bacon. Ergo, they can get led about which is clearly what happened here.
Halftime in America. What does that even fucking MEAN?
Buy a Ford.

X said...
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Calypso Facto said...

Auto union money helped Obama get elected, in turn Obama supported union-friendly auto company bailouts, in turn auto companies run expensive Super Bowl ads regurgitating Obama SOTU fascistic theme of "working as one."

Garage'll be along any moment to denounce this Citizen's United-like use of private spending for political messaging during an election year, I'm sure.

And yes, it's very much akin to the Wisconsin experience of public union money helping to elect politicians who promise to reward the union membership at taxpayer expense.

Known Unknown said...

was an actual example of what Detroit produces

Eminem is an interesting person. Why? He has this deplorable alter-ego (Slim Shady) who dominates his music, and yet, he's the adoptive father of his ex-wife's child from another man. who, on his latest album (Recovery) seemed to grow up into a full-fledged father figure.

Known Unknown said...

But you did notice that the sign messages were photoshopped, right, in the Eastwood ad?

Yes, but it's funny they chose those particular images to coincide with the VO about "dischord."

I suppose they could've used Tea Party footage, but even they know who their customers are.

Michael Haz said...

Get off my lawn!

Dust Bunny Queen said...

Although every car and truck we own is a Chevrolet and I am lusting over the new Camaro.......I will never buy another GM car.

My next car will be a Ford.

Patrick said...

While watching the game, and the commercials last night, I thought to myself "If I were the CEO of Budweiser, I would spend less money on super bowl commercials, and more money trying to make a beer that tastes good.

I would apply that reasoning if I were the CEO of an automobile manufacturer as well.

Moose said...

Man, just noticing the fact that in the linked posting Trooper York had deleted all his comments. I also note that Trooper's blog is now invite only. I can only assume that it was all related to your dustup with him and banning him. I have to ask - I know this is your blog, but is that sort of scorched earth policy worth it when it has that sort of effect on what was a very droll and amusing commentator?

Just wondering.

MadisonMan said...

Which chord?

Scott M said...

I would apply that reasoning if I were the CEO of an automobile manufacturer as well.

What does better tasting beer have to do with making cars? Mind you, it all sounds good, but still...

Scott M said...

I have to ask - I know this is your blog, but is that sort of scorched earth policy worth it when it has that sort of effect on what was a very droll and amusing commentator?

I don't post here anymore for that very same reason.

DADvocate said...

Yes, buy Ford.

BTW - A friend of mine has a Fusiion, damn good car. The 2013 Ford Mustang Shelby GT500 is set to break 200 MPH. Forget the Camaro.

Known Unknown said...

Although every car and truck we own is a Chevrolet and I am lusting over the new Camaro.......I will never buy another GM car.

My next car will be a Ford.


We are historically Chrysler people out of deference to my uncle, who was a near-lifer there and became President of Chrysler Financial.

But I won't buy one of their cars again, no matter the 'deal' I could get, nor a GM.

I've never thought of purchasing a Ford, although they now find themselves as a front runner for when we retire the quickly-rusting 7 year-old Mazda MPV. (Won't be buying another Mazda, either.)

DADvocate said...

I don't post here anymore for that very same reason.

Did someone else post this for you?

Known Unknown said...

"If I were the CEO of Budweiser, I would spend less money on super bowl commercials, and more money trying to make a beer that tastes good.

I actually don't mind Budweiser.

I live in a location with a Bud brewery,and it makes a world of difference in the quality of the product. Maybe their shipping systems ruin the beer, too?

Miller High Life, on the other hand, is terrible.

KCFleming said...

I missed the commercial last night, and refuse to watch it now, being too depressing to even think about.

I choose to remember Clint as he once was, not as a shill for liberal fascism.

X said...
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garage mahal said...

Dirty Harry is a Dirty Commie now too? Gah.

My feelings are hurt and I'm buying a Ford!

Scott M said...

Did someone else post this for you?

No. Why?

My feelings are hurt and I'm buying a Ford!

I would explain the concept of voting with your dollars, but I suspect he is already aware of it.

Tank said...

Bob said...

Detroit is the model for America?

Detroit is a shithole.


So true, and yet, maybe a model for the America to come.

In any event, very disappointed in CE, hope he is losing his mind. I'd like to blame it on that.

prairie wind said...

DBQ, Clint Eastwood's VO was for a Chrysler ad, not Government Motors. Chrysler also received wads of money from the government, though.

The ads that should be getting more attention are the GE ads! (That would be General Electric, for you scanners.) I liked those a lot. Yes, we should recognize how GE keeps America running.

Alex said...

Who cares? The world would be better off if the Earth simply swallowed Detroit whole into itself. Think of it as recycling.

Thorley Winston said...

I saw the ad last night while I was at dinner and read the closed captioning rather than listened to it. I didn’t care for the ad itself and thought it was a thinly-veiled campaign ad for Obama. I’m not sure why Eastwood agreed to do it but the discussion around the ad seems to largely be negative in large part because of the offensiveness of the UAW and auto industry trying to rationalize their bailouts as being some manifestation of patriotism.

Chuck66 said...

If Chrysler wants to show images from Wisconsin, they could show the 600 unemployed people who they layed off last year at their Kenosha engine plant.

Tank said...

When the bailouts occured, I bought my first ever Ford because they didn't take that money.

I'll be buying my next one in May.

traditionalguy said...

Col.Heg was a true war hero. He was killed at Chickamauga (outside Chattanooga) about 5:00PM on day one. The heroes in blue lost that battle by the end of the second day's slaughter.

Heg was mortally wounded leading his Wisconsin men in a counterattack on Gen. Cleburne's brigade, that late afternoon.

Fifty weeks later his Wisconsin men stopped the attack of Cleburne's brigade at Jonesboro, Georgia south of Atlanta also at 5:00 PM on day one.

That act caused the surrender of Atlanta and caused the re-election of a now popular, but then very unpopular, Republican President.

The Atlantans that I know honor the heroes from both sides.

After the War, Heg's men who loved him also erected a monument to honor him in the Chickamauga Battlefield National Park.

Chuck66 said...

I have a Ford Fusion and love it. They are assembled in Mexico, but mostly with American made parts.

I could do an ad for Ford, talking about my car.

Scott M said...

If Chrysler wants to show images from Wisconsin, they could show the 600 unemployed people who they layed off last year at their Kenosha engine plant.

Or, they could show the ground just north of Interstate 44 in Fenton, MO. If you Google it and select the satellite image, that huge white-grey spot is the Chrysler plant they recently tore down.

hawkeyedjb said...

As of last week, I now own the first Ford of my life. I'm surprised how often I've heard people say they won't buy a Chrysler or GM product.

I'm usually not political about purchases, but I have to agree: no bail-mobiles for me either.

Joe said...

(The Uncredentialed, Crypto Jew)

No Moose, Trooper York is, I believe, about to be the subject of a “Reality TV Show” and so his blog is about to be, hopefully, inundated with folks interested in his dress/lingerie shop…

Do I know this, NO but when last I was at his Blog he mentioned that they were going to be the subject of a show and then a week or so later, it was invite only…

I didn’t want to find out where I stood in the social hierarchy so I didn’t ask for an invite, in…ScottM might pass muster…because he doesn’t post on the “Evil Blogger Lady’s” blog……

chickelit said...

Walt Kowalski drove a Ford truck: link

yashu said...

Clint's got old guy syndrome. People reach a certain age and they just stop paying attention to details. It's not alzheimers. It's just they don't have time to waste and can't be bothered to tell bullshit from bacon. Ergo, they can get led about which is clearly what happened here.

Whatever it is, something has gone sadly wrong with him, as proved by this: "Clint Eastwood's Family to Star in Reality Show on Network Behind 'Keeping Up With the Kardashians'."

According to rumors, he hates the idea and was dead set against it, but gave in to his wife and daughters. So Clint Effing Eastwood is allowing his family to go Kardashian. What's an Obama/ Chrysler ad, compared to that.

Brian Brown said...

Chrysler is a car company bailed out by taxpayers several times and owned by an Italian conglomerate which may need even bigger bailout funds once the Italian government goes bankrupt.

Yeah Detroit!

Brian Brown said...

By the way, I love "Imported From Detroit" as it demonstrates how disconnected from the rest of America that basition of Democratic policies is.

Also, nothing like the conflation between teachers and people working on the assembly line by the left.

Telling.

KCFleming said...

If America = Detroit, well, don't look at Forgotten Detroit.

Talk about your dystopian futures.

Where's Robocop when you need him?

chickelit said...

Plus, please, don't anyone confuse the Ford's Gran Torino with Pontiac's Gran Turisimo Omogolato, aka Gas, Tires, & Oil.

Writ Small said...

Imagine a halftime where your football team operates under union rules and seniority rather than talent decides who gets to play.

gerry said...

I think it is the cold breeze of the tomb affecting Dirty Harry. He's trying to redeem himself with his Beverly Hills neighbors before he dies.

Brian Brown said...

America doesn't equal Detroit.

Detroit looks more like Beiruit than it does America.

That city has recived billions in "urban renewal" grants and has had an endless string of Democratic mayors.

The city's public school district has a huge budget deficit and 47 percent of Detroiters are ”functionally illiterate.”

chickelit said...

Ted Nugent comments on Detroit and politics: link

BJM said...

Funny how the ad didn't mention that Chrysler is majority owned (58.5%) by a foreign company, Fiat who previously withdrew from the American market without notice in 1984, abandoning hundreds of thousands American Fiat & Lancia owners with worthless cars, no warranties, parts or service.

But then, like Agnelli, Obama & Co aren't very picky about with whom they crawl into bed as long as it advances their agenda...I think there's a word for that.

Heh.

Sloanasaurus said...

It's always nice to re-live the whole Meade story. It's a blogging legend.

DADvocate said...

No. Why?

You said you don't post here any more, but you're posting.

MayBee said...

Detroit isn't even representative of the rest of Michigan. It has an unemployment rate of over 10%, while West Michigan cities like Grand Rapids have 7.7% unemployment.

BJM said...

@Curious George

This "we all rallied around what is right and acted as one" is a load of crap.

Exactly, what happened to 789 Chrysler dealerships, Indiana State Police Pension Fund, the Indiana Teacher's Retirement Fund, and the state's Major Moves Construction Fund was neither consensual or "right".

Sofa King said...

I bought a 2012 Fusion last year. I think it's a great car, and it was my first Ford after owning a used Acura and a new Civic. If you're into subcompacts, I've heard the new Fiesta is one of the best drivers, if not the absolute cheapest.

bagoh20 said...

Is there any doubt that if polled, Most Americans would pick Detroit as the worst city in America?

There is this thing that happens all the time these days where the most dishonest statements go out and those writing and saying them have no problem being associated with the lies. Even when proven wrong, there is no apology, no correction, no "I learned better." It's just double down or ignore it. That's all we ever get.

Is there any place in our society where people who are consistently honest or correct get more respect than everyone else? Even more respect than the known liars?

I have made my share of wrong statements over the years here on this blog, and for better or worse, I think I may hold the record for acknowledging and apologizing for errors. I don't see why such a thing is so hard in our world today. Clint, I'm waiting.

Michael said...

Garage: A reason to buy a Ford is that they did not take Government money. Another is that they make better cars and trucks than GM or Chrysler. Another is that they are an American car company. Only a liberal would conceive of buying a car because a movie star disappointed them. It wouldn't cross any conservative person's mind to have such an inane idea.

Scott M said...

I don't see why such a thing is so hard in our world today.

I'm not so sure this is a function of our society in particular. The Chinese, for instance, indeed a good many of what we would consider the oriental cultures, put a great deal of import on "face" and not losing it, no matter what.

I think that it's possibly a human norm to avoid looking silly, stupid, or wrong. This is why admitting you're wrong is considered a virtue. If it was easy it would be considered a Madonna.

MadisonMan said...

Is there any doubt that if polled, Most Americans would pick Detroit as the worst city in America?

What about Oakland? (California) Or Houston.

Sure, you can get a job in Houston, but most of the year it's like living in the sweating armpit of an unclean Englishman.

MayBee said...

I think this ad, plus Obama seeking to impose himself onto the valuable pre-game airtime, is pretty darn creepy.

Joe Schmoe said...

Obama is gonna go all Herbert Hoover on us this fall: A chicken in every pot, a Volt in every garage.

Chip Ahoy said...

What I am seeing in these comments is a good deal of epistemological closure.

I had a crap Ford that for some reason my dad thought would be a good car for me that I traded for a very good Chrysler. A comparison of their undercarriage was the difference between a toy and a real car.

Now I have my dad's Ford truck. A dyke lady told me that my Ford is actually Japanese. I'm all, "It is not." And she's all, "It is too." Over and over. She grinded me down by pointing out facts and I lost the argument and she was very smug throughout the whole thing. She forced me to notice all the cheap-ass piddly things about it. Like a plastic radiator fan. And like how it's too small. And other things that although the truck appears altogether studly, mostly because of it its wheels, it is actually not all that sturdy.

BJM said...

@chickenlittle

Plus, please, don't anyone confuse the Ford's Gran Torino with Pontiac's Gran Turisimo Omogolato

...or with the real deal...although Goats were wicked fast off the line.

garage mahal said...

It wouldn't cross any conservative person's mind to have such an inane idea.

Except conservatives in this thread. Fortunately most Americans aren't that petty.

Michael said...

Garage: Point out a post here where a person has decided to not buy a car because of this ad. I think you are projecting what you think people are saying when they are saying something quite different.

Scott M said...

Garage: Point out a post here where a person has decided to not buy a car because of this ad.

I traded in a perfectly serviceable, paid-off Infiniti I30 for a Ford Freestyle in 2009, specifically because of the bailouts. While there are certainly things about the Infiniti I miss (the peppy V6, for one), the Freestyle is the best family vehicle we have ever owned.

Dust Bunny Queen said...

It wouldn't cross any conservative person's mind to have such an inane idea. (to not buy a car because we were mad at Clint Eastwood)

Except conservatives in this thread. Fortunately most Americans aren't that petty.

Untrue. The reasons for not giving any money or support to GM and a preference to Ford, have already been given by Michael and have nothing to do with their spokespersons.

Another reason not to support GM is those bond holders who got hosed in the illegal bailout restructuring of debt. Some of my LoLs (little ole ladies) who had GM bonds and relied on the interest income in retirement lost not only their income but tens of thousands of dollars of their hard earned life savings. All so the Unions could save their own sorry greedy asses.

I would hold it against the celebrity spokes person and not give them any money either. People who I will not buy their records, movies or anything else that they do.

Linda Rhonstadt. Sean Penn. Susan Sarandon. Rosie O"Donnell. Jeaneane Garofolo. Woody Harrelson. Among others.

I don't support my enemies.

BJM said...

Some clarification please, are we supposed to choose between Trooper and Althouse? Cuz that's just so middle school.

I have two friends of long standing who fell out over a financial deal gone bad. I still see them individually and enjoy their company. I'm savvy enough to manage the relationship and not carry tales...their disagreement is their bidness not mine.

prairie wind said...

Emphatically, what DBQ said.

chickelit said...

@BJM: I forgot, you're the car lady whose family owned the Shelby Cobra IIRC.

BJM said...

@Garage

Except conservatives in this thread. Unfortunately most Liberals aren't that smart.

FIFY

TosaGuy said...

So I take this to mean that we will now see Dodges, Chevys and Fords in our school, city hall and state office building parking lots instead of today's collection of Hondas and Toyotas?

(I own a Ford)

prairie wind said...

I own a Toyota (Lexus) and the parking lot is full of other Toyotas and Hondas. The reason is simple. American cars had a lot of catching up to do to be as good as the Japanese--and maybe even the Koreans. If Ford is as good as what I have, I would consider buying a Ford next time. I find it unlikely...but could be simple snobbery on my part.

Amartel said...

Yashu-I did not know that! Poor Clint.

"Some clarification please, are we supposed to choose between Trooper and Althouse? Cuz that's just so middle school."
Exactly. Trooper banned himself. Which is too bad because he was pretty cool, for a journalist.

Michael said...

prairie wind: I drove an Explorer for a few years until they changed the model. Also have a Land Cruiser. The Ford was exceptional. I would have gotten another but they downsized the model. I opted for a VW Toureg with a TDI. Excellent engine. good for the earth.

BJM said...

@chickenlittle

Yeah, we're major gearheads.

I worked in the industry in both Detroit and Europe. Fiat's are pure crap...but the average Italian doesn't have much choice what with the govt levying 60-70% of their pay, the outrageous cost of gasoline and onerous taxes/duties on autos.

With our govt meddling in the auto & energy industry, we're headed there apace.

The anti-car dunderheads in CA are the leading edge.

Michael said...

Amartel: I don't follow this closely enough, apparently, but what happened to AllenS? Was he made to walk the plank with Trooper? Can't recall the topic of horror or anything about the flap.

roesch/voltaire said...

Of late the bloggers on this site seem to be anti-everything except their own egocentric ideologies: Churches that advocate for peace and keeping guns of the Sanctuary are "cute" or bad, and anyone who suggests it may be healthy sign for this country to get together and try to rebuild Detroit as well as perhaps our failing infrastructure is full of crap. Eastwood is a multi-talented guy who I suspect is smarter and more accomplished than any of us posters so I give him some space-- even though I today I own Focus and a NIssan, and thought GM gave up long ago when they said making money was more important than making cars--

Thorley Winston said...

Eastwood did an interview on November 7, 2011 with the LA Times where he expressed his views on the auto bailouts:

“I’ve always been very liberal when it comes to people thinking for themselves,” said Eastwood, who supports gay marriage, abortion rights and environmental protection. “But I’m a big hawk on cutting the deficit. I was against the stimulus thing too. We shouldn’t be bailing out the banks and car companies. If a CEO can’t figure out how to make his company profitable, then he shouldn’t be the CEO.”

However later on in the interview, the interviewer (not Eastwood) wrote the following about Eastwood’s latest films:

Hollywood may be a town of la-la-liberals, but when it comes to individual careers, it’s a business with a nakedly conservative embrace of free-market principles. The hit makers are the toast of the town. The flopmeisters can’t get anyone to return their calls. Eastwood had his biggest hit ever as a filmmaker with 2008’s “Gran Torino.” But his last two films, “Invictus” and “Hereafter,” were disappointments. So if “J. Edgar” is a stiff, Eastwood will be skating on thin ice.

J. Edgar hasn’t exactly been lighting up the box office (and has done much worse than either Invictus or Hereafter) so I have to wonder if Eastwood came out of retirement from acting to get a much-needed cash infusion for his production company.

Scott M said...

and anyone who suggests it may be healthy sign for this country to get together and try to rebuild Detroit as well as perhaps our failing infrastructure is full of crap

Agreed. So long as you can agree it would be healthy to admit that decades of blue policies have wrecked that city. You first before we throw more good money after bad.

MadisonMan said...

I don't support my enemies.

It's unfortunate that you consider fellow citizens to be your enemy.

Rusty said...

So how much money did the taxpayers lose in the Fiat deal?
I know the bondholders got reamed.

Fiat- Italian for shit.

Michael said...

MadisonMan: "It's unfortunate that you consider fellow citizens to be your enemy."

This is what should be said to our President. Unfortunately he has designated large numbers of Americans as enemies. What is even more unfortunate is that a very large cohort of progressives have taken this very bad idea to heart.

roesch/voltaire said...

Scott I agree that a number of polices brought Detroit down, yes, but not just blue..my thoughts on the bale-out were a whole network of suppliers are related to GM and Ford for that matter and I did not want to see that collapse, although I have long thought that the Big Three's focus on the nice profit with SUVs would leave them behind the smaller car development that they needed.

Alex said...

Suddenly I'm buying the "Clint needed the cash for Malpaso" theory.

garage mahal said...

Agreed. So long as you can agree it would be healthy to admit that decades of blue policies have wrecked that city.

So decades of red policies are responsible for red state rural poverty and meth labs? Something makes me think not.

chickelit said...

MadisonMan said...
It's unfortunate that you consider fellow citizens to be your enemy.

It's even worse when the POTUS uses such rhetoric: "bring a gun to knife fight...punch back twice as hard."

Perhaps he just meant adversary. As if that makes a huge difference.

pm317 said...

Second half for Obama?

chickelit said...

Garage Mahal: So decades of red policies are responsible for red state rural poverty and meth labs? Something makes me think not.

Are you talking about Appalacia coal states or farm states?

GPE said...

I actually saw this commercial, and I watch close to zero TV. My thought after viewing was, "Hmmmmm. How is it an aging icon best known for circa 1800's westerns connotes vitality and invigoration of Detroit? And to learn they lifted protest footage from a neighboring state... Epic fail.

garage mahal said...

Are you talking about Appalacia coal states or farm states?

Appalacia to Alaska.

Amartel said...

Unclear on the deets. Latest beef is to do with fair/unfair comment deletion but the bickering has been going on for a while. Trooper is not a fan of lawyers. Trooper and his wife have a clothing store in NY City and are doing a reality show of some kind similar to "What Not to Wear" but for women of size (larger than "2"). Good luck to them.

Amartel said...

Red State policies kead to METH, y'all. Because there are no meth labs in blue states. None at all.

garage mahal said...

And no poverty/crime in large cities in red states, ya'll.

shiloh said...

"I will never buy another GM car."

Childishness and lack of reading/viewing comprehension aside, if you don't believe in all the tenets of a particular religion, is that a good reason for stop attending and not supporting said church.

Clint has always marched to the beat of his own drummer, the bogus meme of peeps getting more conservative as they get older notwithstanding.

Plus he was probably well paid ie don't Reps believe in free enterprise? :D

If nothing else the ad has gotten a great "buzz" ie "you" are talking about it ~ the bottom line.

Alex said...

shiloh - why is so difficult for you to understand that many of us refuse to support government run motors?

X said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
yashu said...

I'm sad Trooper is no longer part of Althouse the blog. If I recall correctly, it was his own choice to leave and cut this blog out of his life entirely. I hope there might be a reconciliation someday, though I won't hold my breath.

Loyalty is a fine quality. But for a friend of Trooper's to come here *just* for the purpose of taunting and insulting Meadehouse, IMO doesn't help anything. Just stirs up more bad blood, doesn't it?

Anyway, hadn't heard about Troop's reality show; good luck to him!

Brian Brown said...

garage mahal said...


So decades of red policies are responsible for red state rural poverty and meth labs?


Except there aren't "decades of red state policies"

George Wallace was a Democrat.

For example.

Of course when your ignorance is so staggering, you make comments like red state policies.

chickelit said...

Shiloh said: if you don't believe in all the tenets of a particular religion, is that a good reason for stop attending and not supporting said church.

Please rephrase. I can't tell if you're talking about Clint or Obama.

Thanks

Alex said...

What shiloh is really saying is throw away the "religion" of free-market thinking and take on his TRUE religion of socialism.

James said...

Detroit's come back so well that the ad was filmed in New Orleans and LA.

Some comeback....

Hagar said...

"Everyone should own at least one Fiat!"
(Because a little adversity in your life is good for your moral fiber.)

And IIRC, Fiat is majority owned by the Italian government, which also is applying for the IMF (majority US funded) to bail them out.

shiloh said...

"Please rephrase. I can't tell if you're talking about Clint or Obama."

hmm, Rowdy Yates or Obama, tough call. At the risk of having another post disappear! :-P

Dust Bunny Queen said...

I don't support my enemies.

It's unfortunate that you consider fellow citizens to be your enemy

They started it.

Hoosier Daddy said...

"... So decades of red policies are responsible for red state rural poverty and meth labs?.."

No that would be Democrat policies being responsible for poverty. Providing a hand up instead of handouts would be far more productive but turning poor people into productive members of society would mean less voters for the Democrat Party. Keeping them dependent is the only way Democrats can stay in power.

Dust Bunny Queen said...

if you don't believe in all the tenets of a particular religion, is that a good reason for stop attending and not supporting said church.


Yes. If I found out that my church was double dealing, stealing from the collection, plate, stiffing the parisioners in goods and services and existed only to make a few people in the congregation wealthy at the expense of everyone else.

Damned right I would not support the church.

GM is a union owned crappy car company that can't make a profit on its own and WE were forced to give them money.

The share prices need to double from today's price to break even on the taxpayer's investment.....or more properly...extorted investment.

garage mahal said...

No that would be Democrat policies being responsible for poverty

It must so easy to be a conservative. You really don't need to know anything. Just who to blame. The answer is NEVER another conservative.

Michael said...

DBQ. Perhaps we shouldnt be so rough on GM. I think they sold almost 800 volts one month. I saw one yesterday. Not a stunner, thst is for sure.

Michael said...

Garage. Wrong again. GWB was a spendthrift. Ronald R pushed through a tax reform that retroactively changed the rules on real estate. You, of all people, bring up the topic of the unexamined life! LOL as you say

Hoosier Daddy said...

"... It must so easy to be a conservative..."

Actually its hard work because it requires self reliance and not counting on Uncle Sam to come running to my rescue anytime life kicks you in the butt.

Being a liberal is the easy part because you can always blame someone else for your misfortunes which is why your side always plays the victim.

garage mahal said...

I wouldn't feel too bad about GM. They cranked out 9.025 million vehicles in 2011. Which ranks them number one in the world.

shiloh said...

"Yes"

Then, go in peace my child and may you find eternal salvation elsewhere.

Interesting the bogus meme of conservatives being the party of evangelicals/Christ etc. when Dutch/Bush41/Bush43 were not religious at all and, being kind, not regular church goers.

garage mahal said...

Actually its hard work because it requires self reliance and not counting on Uncle Sam to come running to my rescue anytime life kicks you in the butt.

So any government subsidy to the poor that flows into red states goes exclusively to Democrats living in those red states. Got it!

Hoosier Daddy said...

Tell me again how the War on Poverty was a smashing success.

chickelit said...

Which ranks them number one in the world.

Too big to fail.

shiloh said...

From Clint to the war on poverty. Comin' to an Althouse theater soon!

Michael said...

Garage. What are you doing with your GM dividends? As an investor we are eager to hear your thoughts on how long you intend to hold. Ditto Chrysler.

Michael said...

Shiloh. A friend and his family sit next to the Bushes at their church in Dallas.

James said...

LOL...and what tax rate does he intend to pay on that "dividend?"

Buffett Rule anyone?

ajcjw said...

When I first saw the Chrysler commercial I thought is was an Obama campaign ad and wondered if our bailout money was used to pay for it. And Chrysler's not even an American company anymore, which made the whole theme absurd. This ad and the GM ad bashing Ford were both disgusting and ugly. I hated the post-industrial, apocalyptic vibe, but the dishonest pandering was even worse. The corporate marketing execs behind the ads and the agencies who made them obviously believe the Super Bowl audience is stupid.

Hoosier Daddy said...

"... Garage. What are you doing with your GM dividends? As an investor we are eager to hear your thoughts on how long you intend to hold. Ditto Chrysler..."

If he's a true liberal he should hold them till cap gains is raised to 30% and then sell. That would be the patriotic thing to do to maximize Uncle Sams cut.

Brian Brown said...

garage mahal said...
I wouldn't feel too bad about GM. They cranked out 9.025 million vehicles in 2011. Which ranks them number one in the world


And yet:

The Detroit News is reporting that the U.S. Treasury now says it has lost an extra $170 million in the auto industry bailout. The culprit? The declining price of General Motors stock.

According to the report, GM's stock crested at $37.23, but is down 35 percent from that level today. The Treasury Department based its calculations on a $21.29 value from November 30, 2011. The government's share of GM was initially 61 percent, but has been reduced to 26.5 percent. The News says that the lower stock price has kept the government from selling its remaining 500 million shares.


Don't worry, you don't know what it all means anyway.

Fen said...

These Detroit Comeback commercials always make me laugh. They should use the wasted adverstising dollars to turn the lights back on.

Fen said...

I don't post here anymore for that very same reason.

I do, but I no longer trust her to champion free speech. Its apparently situational - censorship as a "professional courtesy" to her own tribe.

I've also noticed that censorship is up all across the net. Friends with personal blogs are now deleting posts not because those posts are abusive, but because they don't agree with the bloggers world view.

"Have you looked at the CRU emails?" will get you deleted and banned these days.

Bad time for Ann to go all wobbly on free speech

Dust Bunny Queen said...

I think they sold almost 800 volts one month. I saw one yesterday. Not a stunner, thst is for sure.

And how many of them were bought by other than Governmental Agencies?

Hmmmm?

I wouldn't feel too bad about GM. They cranked out 9.025 million vehicles in 2011. Which ranks them number one in the world.

Most of which were sold in China and not the United States. EPA and other Cafe standards make it undesireable to do business in the US.

So when are the share prices going to go up the the IPO amount for which WE were forced to shell out the Uncle Sugar money?

Amartel said...

"It must so easy to be a conservative. You really don't need to know anything. Just who to blame. The answer is NEVER another conservative."

Because it's not like we're having a tooth and nail primary or anything. Naah.
You're talking about yourself. Again.
I renew my request for better liberals in Althouse comments. Moo, the Great Gazoo, and Beta Rube are as predictable and dull as their dreary leader.

traditionalguy said...

Talking about hopeless stupidity, the media still talk about the coal fired electrics volts as GREEN, as if that part of the Big Lie had any truth to it either.

The Germans just told the truth publicly in their media about the Big Lie falsely accusing CO2 emissions of being any problem at all, much less a pollutant.

The Germans say we are idiots to go back to 1896 technology at $250,000 per useless piece of government issued junkmobile.

shiloh said...

Michael, your personal anecdote aside, the key words, were "were not" ie past tense. If the Bush's have now found religion, "we" can only wish them well.

Hell, after 9/11 even Cheney probably found religion ;) ok, maybe not.

garage mahal said...

I hear chicks dig the Ford Focus.

Toad Trend said...

Clint approved the auto bailouts? News to me.

Heck Detroit really IS little Fallujah.

A shining example of progressive policy.

Not sure what the significance of showing the sign-carriers and chanters in the background is.

I walk away from tantrum-throwers. They tend to leave people alone that ignore them.

wv - dangu

garage!

Big Mike said...

I saw this commercial today, and it's way better than Clint's "Halftime in America."

Fen said...

NOT EVEN FILMED IN DETROIT

"But contrary to what the might ad suggest, the spot was actually filmed in New Orleans and Los Angeles. “Yes, part of it was filmed in New Orleans . . . and some was filmed in various parts—such as Los Angeles,” Dianna Gutierrez said. She specifically points to the tunnel scenes as being taken at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, while the stadium shots were in New Orleans.

Asked whether any part of the ad was filmed in Detroit, Gutierrez said that previously taken footage from various parts of the Motor City was used. No image of Detroit was shot for the specific use in this ad."


http://www.weeklystandard.com/blogs/detroit-comeback-ad-filmed-new-orleans-la_621036.html

Toad Trend said...

Fen

A microcosm of our modern world!

Packaged bullshit.

Progressivism: the game of charades that never ends, and never ends well.

Fen said...

"Detroit. Even Clint Eastwood knows better than to come here"

Reminds me of the J-Lo in the ghetto ad that was all faked.

edutcher said...

shiloh said...

Interesting the bogus meme of conservatives being the party of evangelicals/Christ etc. when Dutch/Bush41/Bush43 were not religious at all and, being kind, not regular church goers.

What pretentious drivel.

There are people who go to church do so only to be seen there - Willie, for example, when he was trying to deflect attention from Monica.

And church attendance is only the hypocrite's measure of someone's religious conviction.

As bathtub swabbie knows.

Fen said...

Shiloh sitting in judegment of other people's religious devotion.

Priceless.

Moose said...

Just to close my end of this rabble rousing - as I understood it Ann felt Trooper was being being disruptive in his comments, and deleted a number of them. Trooper who felt slighted bowed out and took his toys with him.

Personally I think Ann gets all wrapped tight and sometimes mistakes the comments page here for her classroom. Just me saying is all.

Alex said...

shiloh not only sits in judgement of other people's hearts, but he does it proudly and loudly.

garage mahal said...

Clint responds:

“I just want to say that the spin stops with you guys, and there is no spin in that ad. On this I am certain,” Eastwood told Fox News, in a statement read on-air by Bill O’Reilly. “I am certainly not politically affiliated with Mr. Obama. It was meant to be a message about job growth and the spirit of America. I think all politicians will agree with it. I thought the spirit was OK.”

He added, “If Obama or any other politician wants to run with the spirit of that ad, go for it.”


Job growth and unity? Fuck.That

Fen said...

Now Garage is lecturing us about Unity.

Comedy gold.

chickelit said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
chickelit said...

Fen said...
Now Garage is lecturing us about Unity.

Hey, he's down with "The One."

This is garage mahal saying it's unamerican to oppose Obama.

Automatic_Wing said...

For his next trick, Obama will resurrect Studebaker, Duesenberg and Pierce-Arrow.

Don't try this at home, folks.

Bleach Drinkers Curing Coronavirus Together said...

Detroit is the model for America?

Detroit is a shithole.



You can thank the Big Three's Race to the Bottom for that one.

But hey! Someone had to get rich by cutting quality to the bone, right? Why not the Big Three? I mean, you expected them to come up with a product good enough for people to actually want to buy? That's hilarious!!

Alex said...

What garage really means is union job growth and unity over unions.

Bleach Drinkers Curing Coronavirus Together said...

So, lemme guess the talking point of the evening:

Unless we have a countryside as filthy as the Yangtze and working conditions as bad as a sweatshop in Hunan, America will forever be a second-rate, indebted nation.

Feel free to spit up an infinite number of variations on this theme, along with the standard "liberals are evil/bad/misguided" rhetoric, and call it an evening.

Of course, that's not how things work in the nation that's arguably weathered the recession the best (Germany), but looking to empiric reality for examples and understanding would fuck up your prefabricated view of the world.

garage mahal said...

This is garage mahal saying it's unamerican to oppose Obama.

You and your cohorts are in the position of rooting against anything positive in the economy or in morale, because you want to beat Obama so bad. It's fun to point that out. It's so obvious.

Automatic_Wing said...

But hey! Someone had to get rich by cutting quality to the bone, right? Why not the Big Three? I mean, you expected them to come up with a product good enough for people to actually want to buy? That's hilarious!!

Um...OK. And the proper action to take when companies cut quality to the bone and build products that people don't want to buy is what? Shovel billions of taxpayer dollars their way?

Rusty said...

garage mahal said...
I wouldn't feel too bad about GM. They cranked out 9.025 million vehicles in 2011. Which ranks them number one in the world.

2/6/12 5:40 PM




And still lost money.

MadisonMan said...

They started it.

Favorite sentence of parents everywhere! :)

Rusty said...

Detroit is a shithole.


You can thank the Big Three's Race to the Bottom for that one.




Oh. yeah. And Michigan State government and Detroit municipal government had nothing to do with it.
There is virtually no big three in Detroit anymore and it's still a shithole.
What party runs Detroit?
I'll wait here.

chickelit said...

garage wrote: You and your cohorts are in the position of rooting against anything positive in the economy or in morale, because you want to beat Obama so bad. It's fun to point that out. It's so obvious.

It's not true. If I were a partisan, I'd be ragging on Jerry Brown. Fix politics more locally, & it will work its way up.

I am also very positive and upbeat about Darrell Issa, who represents me in Congress.

And I very much liked Eastwood in "Gran Torino" and the messages he projected with that work.

I am brimming with positive proton energy!

Bleach Drinkers Curing Coronavirus Together said...

Someone needs to review their timeline of the political economy of Detroit and the domestic auto industry.

Hint: 1965 and 2012 are actually, get this, different years!

But hey, why consider the historical timeline of events when you can play Pin the Political Party on the City?

In a state run by Mitt Romney Sr., no less.

History repeating itself...

shiloh said...

My children, my children, I beseech thee. Let he or she :D who is w/out sin cast the first stone!

Go in peace and sin no more ...

btw, as DT mentioned, Clint was totally against the auto bailouts, but as it turns out, he's pro America/Americans, go figure!

rcocean said...

Great ad. Eastwood's an old-fashioned patriot.

Hoosier Daddy said...

Garage shows his patriotism and supporting American auto workers by driving a BMW.

Carol_Herman said...

What the Heg?

The commercial lied. It was supposed to be set in Detriot.

That the commercial played on the words "half time?" You bet. But 9/11 didn't start a "new game." And, Detroit isn't "half time." Detroit's in the toilet because of the unions. BECAUSE OF ... Do you understand that?

Madonna's been forgotten. The primary contest left the front page. And, Elton John got NO PLEASURE with Pepsi! Because he didn't even make a dent.

Oh, and by the way, Jerry Seinfeld, along with Jay Leno ... were hired by a car company to make a SuperBowl half time commercial.

What all these commercials did was prove a minute could seem like an eternity. (Einstein said the same thing ... when he compared your being bored ... with your accidently leaning your tuchis on a hot radiator.)

Drudge is showing that Clint Eastwood NOW has to say "he wasn't promoting Obama's re-election." FUNNY.

garage mahal said...

btw, as DT mentioned, Clint was totally against the auto bailouts, but as it turns out, he's pro America/Americans, go figure!

USA! USA!

oops, I mean:

S! S!

Hoosier Daddy said...

My take on Clint's commercial is that it was an appeal to get back on the horse and make this country great again, pull oneself up by the bootstraps if you will.

Such imagry is repellent to liberals though since such talk is vaguely jingoistic and the idea doing so without a massive government subsidy is unthinkable.

Sprezzatura said...

BTW, Glenn Beck loved this ad.

This morning, on the radio, he was blabbering about the ad's greatness. But, he was upset that Clint didn't know that this is actually almost the end of the game, for America. Then, Beck went on about how the his and his staff's families don't understand how America is almost completely over, blah blah blah.

I changed the station. Once he gets into his "we're all dooooomed!" shtick I move on. Nothing new there.



Anywho, I like the ad. And, I'm a big fan of one of the lines in the family that has adopted Chrysler.

garage mahal said...

My take on Clint's commercial is that it was an appeal to get back on the horse and make this country great again, pull oneself up by the bootstraps if you will.

Conservatives by and large don't seem to like that message, judging by their reaction to the spot.

edutcher said...

shiloh said...

My children, my children, I beseech thee. Let he or she :D who is w/out sin cast the first stone!

Go in peace and sin no more ...


Last I looked, blasphemy is a sin.

So is sacrilege.

And I'm happy to let the Man Upstairs will do the punishing.

Bleach Drinkers Curing Coronavirus Together said...

So we're all agreed that Republican governor of Michigan, George Romney, was responsible for presiding over the bad quality and degraded brand of the domestic auto industry?

And that the employment that Obama kept and higher profits seen after restructuring are either somehow bad, or just make the Rethuglicans feel like little people? Who only have their own bootstraps to look up to? Because their politicians are such a bunch of ineffective, egomaniacal, flip-flopping, phony, hypocritical, self-righteous, worthless bunions?

Fen said...

Garage: You and your cohorts are in the position of rooting against lies about the economy, because you are tired of seeing liberal/socialist failures repeated at your expense

/fixed that for ya

And I love how your appeal to "unity" had a 15 minutes shelf life.

Much like your calls for "civility"

Thanks for all the laughs!

Bleach Drinkers Curing Coronavirus Together said...

Republicans are in a bitchy mood because they look at their current slate of pisspoor preznidential candidates, who are not only immoral or phony, but transparently so, and see themselves.

Bleach Drinkers Curing Coronavirus Together said...

And what's with all the boot metaphors? Is a bootstrap just something that lets a boot-licker feel that he might one day be the one to be boot-licked?

shiloh said...

"And I'm happy to let the Man Upstairs will do the punishing."

edutcher should also let the Man Upstairs do his proofreading.

Fortunately for edutcher, the Man Upstairs is a forgiving god, or so I hear.

btw, daily Althouse conservative self-righteousness is also a sin.

Father forgive them for they know not what they do.

Fen said...

And yet, Ritmo would never be caught dead in Detroit, despite whatever HopeyChange Obama promises.

Bleach Drinkers Curing Coronavirus Together said...

So Fennie -

Is it better to be the bootlicker, or the bootlickee? In your estimation, that is.

Be honest!

I think Fen likes to pretend that he prefers to be the bootlicker, while deep down he actually prefers to lick boot. And polish. And heel.

Bleach Drinkers Curing Coronavirus Together said...

So Fen, will you set the sights of your superior firepower against Detroit on "RACE" or "CLASS"?

Which setting will you use?

I mean, much of it appears pretty well bombed out already, but we know that you never had any use for any government policy that didn't include a heavy dose of violence.

So come on. Tell us. Upon whom would you enjoy committing all the violence that you love so much?

Fen said...

Ritmo: So Fen, will you set the sights of your superior firepower against Detroit on "RACE" or "CLASS"?

Wha?

You're into the crack again, aren't you?

Bleach Drinkers Curing Coronavirus Together said...

Well, apologies. I just wanted to find out how someone who uses violence as a preferred policy and general problem-solving methodology would prefer to identify his targets.

I mean, you've got to pick an enemy at some point, right?

Fen said...

Violence is not a preferred policy.

And even if it was... in your case, not worth the energy.

Bleach Drinkers Curing Coronavirus Together said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Bleach Drinkers Curing Coronavirus Together said...

Deleted for reasons of vulgar hilarity!

Fen said...

Yah just wonderful. For all of Althouse censoring, MiniTruthMeade still leaves us with feces flingers like Ritmo, Shiloh, etc.

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