Clint Eastwood returns, stars in new super PAC ad
Washington (CNN) - Actor Clint Eastwood is returning to the political stage, but this time he is talking directly to the camera - and not to an empty chair.
Eastwood received much derision as well as praise for his speech at the Republican Convention this summer in Tampa where he lectured to an empty chair that was meant to represent President Obama.
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Now Eastwood is the star of a new ad, called "At Stake" from the Republican super PAC American Crossroads.
For much of the spot Eastwood's voice is just heard telling the audience: "For the last few years America has been knocked down. Twenty three million people can't find full-time work," he says. "Obama's second term would be a rerun of the first, and our country just couldn't survive that. We need someone who can turn it around fast. That man is Mitt Romney."
Then Eastwood is seen talking directly to the camera as it ends saying, "There is not much time left, and the future of our country is at stake."
The commercial was taped at Eastwood's home in California, according to American Crossroads spokesman Jonathan Collegio. While Eastwood's speech was met with a lot of negative press stories, Crossroads officials think his message of how Obama has failed resonated. Crossroads President Steven Law was at the convention and thought Eastwood's words were powerful and that he connected with the crowd, Collegio said. Group officials were introduced to him, and he agreed to tape the ad.
Crossroads thinks this goes beyond a stock celebrity endorsement because, as Collegio put it, "this is Clint adding his iconic weight to a message about the country that already resonates with people and which they already believe in their hearts."
The group showed the ad to focus groups in Florida and Ohio, and "it tested off the charts," Collegio says.
The Eastwood spot is one of three new ones launching Wednesday as part of a $12.6 million buy in seven key swing states: Colorado, Florida, Iowa, Nevada, New Hampshire, Ohio and Virginia.
One entitled "Survive" about small business owners will air in Colorado, Iowa, Ohio and Virginia Survive and one called "Bow" which hits Obama's record on China is set to air in Florida, Nevada, New Hampshire, Ohio and Virginia.
Mitt Romney is getting substantial air cover this week. With this new buy, American Crossroads will be spending at least $17 million on swing state ads. On Tuesday it went up with a $4.2 million buy just in Wisconsin and Ohio highlighting the story of a young boy battling cancer in the 1970's who Mitt Romney helped. Another super PAC supporting the Republican presidential nominee, Restore Our Future, announced it was going up with almost $18 million in swing state ads on Tuesday in battleground states.
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I don't believe Mr. Eastwood has ever backed a winner in a presidential race.
Love you Clint; HATE you Rove
I hope he talks about his 5 wives and 8 abortions he had during the ad, or was it 8 wives and 5 abortions?
@business owner
"ghostriter, look up a little thing called the "Community Reinvestent Act" and see which president signed it. Also look to see who repealed the Class Steigel Act. I'll give you a hint. Slick Willy. Just because it happened under the Bush Presidency, doesn't mean it was set in motion by him. Liberalism is a mental disoder"
HMMM...nice try. I seem to remember the GOP was in control with Clinton. You remember....all the time spent trying to impeach Clinton????? If Clinton had not signed the GOP would have over ruled him and passed it anyway. So tell me again who repealed what??????? Oh, and Republinazis are crooks!!!!!!!!!! You were saying?
I think Clint Eastwood has caught a case of "Romnesia". Obamacare can helped the old goat out with that damn disease! lol!!!
Clint already embarrassed himself and the Republicans. Now they're going to do a rerun??? How stupid can they be? Oh yeah, we already know just how stupid.
Anybody that thinks this country can recover from this in 4 years is an idiot. It will take a decade to repair what the Repubs did. If the Repubs get back into power they will finish what they started........ destroy the country.
Haven't watched a film with Clint, since the republican convention. Figure if he's allowed a pass on his responsibility of disrespect to the office let alone the president himself, Clint, needs to be taken to task for being a person that's done nothing in their life except play make believe. He's done so in make-up. Kinda like a child that's never grown up.
Mr. Eastwood you have made a career out of pretending be someone you are not. Just like Romney. In Heartbreak Ridge you pretended to be a U.S. Marine Sargent. Well, I am a former U.S. Marine captain who served with U.S. Marine sergeants and other officers, NCO's and enlisted men in the Vietnam war. You could pretend to be us, but you don't have what it takes to actually be one of us. It is appropriate the the Republicans have chosen a pretender like you to endorse a pretender like Romney. You are both the same.
Clint you went from hero to zero with all that stupid rederick you've been doing lately. You are about as 2 faced as they get. Why don't you just talk to a chair and stay out of the spot light. If there's anyone out there that still has any respect left for you, you'd be better off.
What a spectacular fall from grace this grey haired,dried out old prune has had.How long before the GOP get him to pull out the magnum 44 and dust off a few voters?
I wish we had more men Like Clint today, Most men today are weak whiney and limpwristed. Where are the real men at?
It's sad that a man so supportive of the arts is so nut job right wing . Same thing happened to Dennis Hopper.
They start living in fear of how short life is .
If the Repubs were really as honorable and gung-ho for America as they tout themselves to be,they would totally divorce themselves from this has-been actor.
I am sure that conservatives will denounce Eastwood's opinion as adamantly as they did Bruce Springsteen, George Clooney and Scarlett Johansson because those Hollywood stypes should just shut up and act.
Right?
Clint Eastwood. Isn't he the guy who works at my local liquor store on weekends? I think it is. So, tell me, why should I listen to his opinion?
Eastwood has fathered at least seven children by five different women. He's a Billionaire; owning Tehàma Golf Club. He is also an investor in the world-renowned Pebble Beach Golf Links, though I understand is as cheap as they come – The man does not like paying taxes
People who say Chrysler and GM wouldn't exist but for Obama don't understand that these companies would have been better off going through a structured bankruptcy and downsizing their sweet union pensions, like many other US companies have done. Delta Airlines is an example. But no, the government jumps in and the unions succeed and in time GM will again have to deal with the consequences of bad pension planning, but never mind.... Eastwood is right on!!
Jake
I am tired of Obama citing that he "inherited" a bad economy. We...the People of the USA...hired you (Obama) to fix things. So are we led to believe that the only way you wanted the job of POTUS was IF the economy was in good shape? Sorry that it was damaged more than you thought but you've had 4 years to mend the problems in this country and you've failed. Put your spikes back on because you'll have a lot more time to spend on the golf course.
October 24, 2012 12:58 pm at 12:58 pm
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Seriously, if you really think our economy and our country are so simple that you can just "hire" someone to "fix" it without any more effort or responsibility on your part (but unlimited power to point fingers, blame and fire!) then you are as delusional as Mitt Romney and the rest of the billionaires who are trying to buy this election. Whatever happened to personal responsibility? Back when I was being raised Republican we laughed at people who thought they could buy their way out of problems or hire some miracle man to make everything all right so we could all go back to sleep. Wake up! Obama has a plan that's working, and has been for the last three years despite the obstructionists in Congress - get them out of the way and the budget will balance while employment and wages climb. Mitt Romney has nothing but slick ads, empty promises and numbers that don't add up (if he's even tried to run them).
Gee must be a form of his dementia.
How many kids has he fathered by how many women? Doesn't seem to align well with that whole traditional family concept his party so embraces. He wants his, he gets his, and screw the little people. No pun intended. This party seems to love the concept of "white rich people" telling us what to do. The biggest fear of the Republicans is that the common middle to lower class citizen starts to realize who's needs the Republicans actually serve. They fill the needs of the few, well I for one believe the needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few. Heard that somewhere before...
Hogan's Goat- It's obvious you know nothing about Texas or Texans., But we forgive mentally deficient libs for their inability to understand what goes on in the real world.
Yes...oh so credible after conversing with an invisible person in front fo thousands of giggling Teatrolls who thought the take away was "black people should neither be seen nor heard."
Eastwood is just an actor that is what he gets paid to do. I have never let anyone in entertainment or sports which is entertainment tell me who to vote for liberal or conservative. Let's face it people like Eastwood and others do not live in the real world that is why it is called entertainment. So much for family values and the republican party. Do they know Eastwood's family issues, lots of children with several different women without benefit of marriage.
Hey, Business Owner, the Community Reinvestment Act did not cause the bad mortgage meltdown. It was unregulated mortgage brokers, many of them working at bank-owned subsidiaries set up for the specific purpose of avoiding those pesky regulations, that created the sub-prime mortgages, that filled out fraudulent income staements, etc. Banks coverd by CRA accounted for a very small portion of defaulting mortgages, primarily because they were banks and had to follow some rules. And as to Clinton being stupid enough to sign the bill that eliminated the Glass-Stegall limits on banks, well, yes he did. But the bill was sponsored by three Republicans and it was passed only after decades of GOP lies about how it wasn't necessary, the the private sector could always be trusted to do the right thing, etc. If you believe the private sector can always be trusted, I would like to introduce you to an investment guy named Bernie Madoff. He would never steer you wrong. And then I want you to go get an injection with steroids mixed up by our good friends at this littel compounding pharmacy in New England.
Instead of unthinkingly repeating lies from Rush, Faux news, etc., you might want to actually do some research and some real thinking.