***ADDED: Fascinating read on how, contrary to Obama/media spin, the auto bailouts failed and cost the taxpayers billions.
How did Clint Eastwood and the people around him not see the partisan storm coming with this ad? Eastwood’s a smart guy, as a Hollywood survivor and former mayor, he understands how politics works.
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Because Obama’s decided to eliminate moral hazard and socialize losses for anyone who employs the unions who fund his campaigns, Chrysler obviously wrote a thinly veiled thank you in the form of a reelection ad for their benefactor, and convinced a Republican icon to deliver it.
Before he emerged in a controversial Super Bowl ad as the gravelly voice of Chrysler’s resurgence, Clint Eastwood was a critic of the government bailout that saved the U.S. automaker.
“We shouldn’t be bailing out the banks and car companies,” actor, director and Academy Award winner Eastwood told the Los Angeles Times in November 2011. “If a CEO can’t figure out how to make his company profitable, then he shouldn’t be the CEO.”
The two-minute Chrysler ad “Halftime in America” won attention for its focus on American resilience, but raised eyebrows for the way critics said it echoed one of the central themes of President Barack Obama’s reelection bid.
Eastwood, a longtime Republican who now describes himself as a libertarian, told Fox News on Monday he was “certainly not politically affiliated with Mr. Obama.”
The ad was meant as a message “about job growth and the spirit of America. I think all politicians will agree with it,” Eastwood said, according to a transcript on Foxnews.com.
“If Obama or any other politician wants to run with the spirit of that ad, go for it,” the actor added.
The White House, which said it was not involved in making the ad, did say that the message highlighted the “simple fact” that Obama had rescued the U.S. auto industry.
“He was not willing to allow – did not believe it was necessary to allow – the American automobile industry to collapse and disappear,” White House Press Secretary Jay Carney told reporters.
Eastwood’s manager Leonard Hirshan said the actor has not changed his views on the auto bailout.
Nothing good happens when the federal government gets into bed with private corporations.
It might be half-time in America, but we’re losing because President Quarterback is in over his failed head.
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