Is Clint Eastwood The Republican Mystery Speaker?
As I noted on Monday, there’s an odd gap in Thursday evening’s schedule of speakers at the GOP Convention that has led to speculation about a possible mystery speaker. Today, the speculation seems to be centered around the former Mayor of Carmel-By-The-Sea, California:
Thanks to Townhall.com’s Guy Benson, one of the hotter stories of the morning here in Tampa seems to be that actor/director/American icon Clint Eastwood is reportedly coming to the Republican National Convention and may be the “to be announced” speaker on Thursday night’s schedule.
Which would, of course, make Mitt Romney’s big day — when he accepts his party’s presidential nomination — a bit bigger. (Feel free to add other references to famous Eastwood quotes in the comments thread.)
In reality, of course, Eastwood is just one name on a list that has ranged from Joe Lieberman to Nancy Reagan to Tim Tebow. I suppose we’ll have to wait until tomorrow to find out. Take your own guess. But, you’ll have to ask yourself a question:
About Doug Mataconis
Definitely won’t be Tebow. The Jets have a game tomorrow.
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Didn’t Clint Eastwood star in a pro-bailout, pro-Obama Super Bowl ad? ;)
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Is it too far away from Christmas to hope it’s Rush Limbaugh, Allen West, or Herman Cain?
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@Rick Almeida:
There’s no reason to keep anyone of them secret.
And keeping a speaker secret that there isn’t a reason to keep secret will create negative press especially after all the speculating.
Which is why I still think it’s a party switching, prominent Democrat, and most likely a Senator.
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I’d rather have Eastwood or Tebow than some of the alternatives, like Palin or Trump. But, yes, the “Detroit” Super Bowl ad would certainly confuse the messaging.
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I have this thought in the back of my mind that we may see Clint, escorting Nancy Reagan.
Obviously, the GOP is trying to hype this “mystery” theme a little. It’s actually not a bad marketing move,
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@Doug Mataconis:
Pro-bailout + Pro-embryonic stem cell research.
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That scene from “Dirty Harry” is one of the all time classics.
I think it’s safe to say it won’t be Christine O’Donnell. I’d also bet heavily against Ron Paul, although don’t kid yourself, his supporters are so young, so addled, so loopy, they might actually be sitting around their rooms as we speak, foaming at the mouth, in breathless anticipation.
Nancy Reagan is a pretty darn good guess. Could be. Then again, it’s not beyond the realm of possibility that it won’t be a live speaker. It wouldn’t shock me if they used that time to broadcast old Reagan footage or old Reagan ads. Or both. “Are you better off than you were four years ago?” That could be quite effective and it would fit in with the overall theme of the convention. It also would give the liberal media the vapors.
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I hope it’s Tebow, just because he seems so Republican.
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Clarence Thomas.
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@Doug Mataconis:
I have this thought that it may be Nancy Reagan giving Clint Eastwood a handie. And now, with that image firmly implanted in your minds, I feel my work is done.
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Rarely for you, Mr. Reynolds, that seemed a bit tasteless.
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God, please god, let it be Palin.
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You certainly do have a low opinion of those people who will be paying the freight for your Social Security and Medicare…maybe you’ll do them a favor and drop dead or move to some libertarian paradise like Somalia before they have to put out all that money for you…
Not really…all it would prove is that the GOP has to run repeats because their current crop of programming is failing so miserably…
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@Franklin:
Just a bit?
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Isn’t Eastwood a Libertarian? I remember there being a bit if a stir a few years ago to try and get him to run as the LP candidate. He certainly isn’t a Repub that most of the base would accept based on his actual policy stances.
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liberals hate real men i guess!?
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You’re right, TN, although not the way you mean. The Republicans have been on autopilot so long they probably do think the Reagan years are yesterday as opposed to 30 years ago. Yup, that’s the way to convince voters they’re the party of the future.
And on a more realistic note, I cannot imagine why a woman who turned 91 last month would stand on a stage under hot lights and give a longish political speech in front of a noisy crowd. What is there in this that would give the media vapours? You could present it instead as cruelty to old folks – good messaging in Florida!
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He’s pro-gay marriage too.
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This is not snark – surely it will be a holographic Reagan.
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I suppose Charleton Heston couldn’t be reanimated in time
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@michael reynolds: I doubt it’s Clint Eastwood. He is not known as a big public speaker these days, even though he was a mayor in California years ago. I would like to hear Coach Woody Hayes, but he can’t make it either. How about Coach Knight? I always liked to watch his press conferences – never dull. He would liven things up.
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Yup, it’s Eastwood. I guess it’s bygones regarding the half-time Superbowl commercial?
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