Clint Eastwood Gives America a Pep Talk

http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/politics/2012/02/clint_eastwood_s_halftime_in_america_chrysler_ad_was_it_good_for_obama_.html

Clint Eastwood Gives America a Pep Talk
He says America is about to stand up. Is that a big win for Obama?

By John Dickerson|Posted Monday, Feb. 6, 2012, at 6:38 PM ET


Did the first Obama re-election ad run during the Super Bowl? You might have missed it since the president wasn't even mentioned. It was a Chrysler ad, although even that wasn’t obvious. Instead, more than 111 million viewers were greeted by that tough-talking American icon Clint Eastwood as he delivered what amounted to a locker room speech to the country. “It's halftime in America,” he intoned, as the New York Giants and New England Patriots went in for their midgame break. He heralded the auto industry’s revival and said it is a model for a nation poised for a comeback. By the end of the stirring message, pollsters could probably have found a majority of the country ready to elect the city of Detroit president.

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But, as everyone knows, it’s hard to argue with Clint Eastwood. “This country can't be knocked out with one punch. We get right back up again, and when we do, the world is going to hear the roar of our engines. Ya, it's halftime in America, and our second half is about to begin.” If Clint agrees with Obama—that America is on the edge of a return—how can Obama be wrong?

Of course, Chrysler was quick to say the ad was not political. It would be dumb if they'd planned it to be—you need Democrats and Republicans to buy your cars. But Chrysler doesn't get to decide what's political. By playing on the themes of American greatness during a presidential election year, they're necessarily embracing political themes.

The best news for Obama and his campaign team is that the admakers calculated that the country was so receptive to a pitch for a Detroit-like comeback that they made it the central thrust of the ad. The bad news for Obama is that—despite his rhetorical gifts on the campaign trail—he may not be able to rally Americans around this message as effectively as Dirty Harry can.

The people who run presidential campaigns tell us that successful candidates need to offer an optimistic vision of the future. For months, President Obama has been trying to find a way to argue that despite the dark times, things are looking up, and Americans can be counted on to rally. That was denounced as laughable by his critics. The notion, they said, was proof of how clueless Obama is. If Obama can tap into the same energy the admakers were trying to access, he will have found the voice he’s been stumbling to project. Then, Romney might find himself on the defensive, arguing why he’s not betraying a lack of faith in the American spirit. Because, if Clint Eastwood says America is ready to stand up, who is Mitt to say otherwise?