James Lipton Scolds Clint Eastwood/GOP: "The words were vulgar and worse, they were disrespectful."

[kpete]

Last night was not his best performance. Look, we're talking here about something I know a little bit about. He was doing an improv. That's an improv; it's ad lib. In an improv, you needed a partner. So he created one for himself. Now look, George Bernard Shaw, the great playwright, was great because he always gave the best lines to the antagonists. Actors know, "I want to play the bad guy; he gets the best lines;" the reason being that the stronger the antagonist, the stronger the protagonist because he's got something to fight against.

What he gave to Barack Obama was, well, not the best lines. It was a couple vulgarities. First of all, "shut up," and then "go blank yourself;" a word we can't utter here, of course, and shouldn't have been uttered there. Certainly, not before the candidate was going to come out and impress us with what a wonderful person he was. The result was that it was ... Let me say this, in my opinion, Obama is incapable of saying "shut up and go blank yourself" in any normal circumstance and is capable, in fact, of uttering much more eloquent and I think proper replies. He was not given that opportunity. The words were put in his mouth. The words were vulgar and worse, they were disrespectful. I mean, I can remember a number of presidential campaigns where presidents who were running for reelection were not treated quite this disrespectfully.

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2012/08/31/1126495/-James-Lipton-The-words-were-vulgar-and-worse-they-were-disrespectful-Eastwood-at-RNC

[UTUSN]

1. R#3 & K n/t

[cali]

2. I really dislike the characterization of that thoughtful

analysis as a scolding. I posted the video yesterday. I watched it twice. The title of the kos story doesn't incorporate the word "scolding". It does Lipton's quite splendid analysis a disservice to label it such.

[CJCRANE]

3. As Clint was playing both parts

it was basically Clint who told Romney to go cheney himself.

[Bernardo de La Paz]

5. "it was basically Clint who told Romney to go cheney himself." ... Mission Accomplished.

[nanabugg]

4. Being disrespectful says more about you than about the person you are disrespecting. nt

[nolabear]

6. AMEN. Should be the takeaway from the whole RW campaign.

I swear, ask anyone on that campaign a question about themselves and you get an answer about Obama. Most if not all false, which is disrespectful in the extreme, and many racist, condescending, and rageful. It does indeed say a lot about how well they think their own policies and personalities would go over.

[freshwest]

9. +1,000

[freshwest]

10. +1,000

[magical thyme]

7. I saw a short clip of it for the 1st time on the news last night

I was shocked and repulsed by it. It wouldn't have mattered who the imaginary person in the chair was meant to be. It was, as posted above, really Eastwood talking to himself.

It was not "Invisible Obama." It was "Imaginary Obama," as a projection of Eastwood's stunningly bigoted mind.

[magical thyme]

8. HOLY CRAPS! MADDOW'S UPDATE IS STUNNING!!!!!!!

Apparently, even while the world and Romney's team was cringing at Eastwood's bizarre performance....Romney approved it!!!!!!

"Continuing from The Times, A senior Republican involved in convention planning said that Mr. Eastwood's appearance was cleared by at least two of Mr. Romney's top advisers, Russ Schriefer and Stuart Stevens.

And then later in the day, Stuart Stevens himself, threw the candidate under the bus. Stuart Stevens telling BuzzFeed, quote "I was backstage with him and he was laughing, and he enjoyed it," Stevens said, adding that the candidate thanked [Mr. Eastwood] for coming [See Romney Thought Clint Eastwood's Speech Was Funny, BuzzFeed, August 31, 2012]."

[nc4bo]

11. ZOINK!

But can we be surprised at all at this?

RomneyLies.

[magical thyme]

13. yes. I hate Romney. I've always hated Romney.

But I honestly never expected him to find that funny. I assumed he'd be unhappy with it, as his staff was. If only because he'd have the morsel of sense required to realize it reflects so really, really badly on him.

[Digital Puppy]

12. Amen, Mr. Lipton! n/t

[defacto7]

14. Let me play the advocate of Satan for a moment....

Before pulling the "old man" card, What if... just... what if Clint was actually being the actor he really is... and he wanted to throw the Romney campaign?... for whatever reason....

It's a long shot, but that would be a work of genius.

[CJCRANE]

16. It's possible.

Everyone is forgetting the basic tension/humor idea of ventriloquism...it's *always* the ventriloquist speaking.

I think Clint was playing the court jester on this occasion.

[Paladin]

15. Wow! When You Get Nailed......

...by a professional suck-up like Lipton, you know you've really stepped in it. Keep up the good work, Clint......

[ailsagirl]

17. Lipton is great--I really enjoyed that segment

And to so characterize him is uncalled for

[nanabugg]

18. OK, Clint should be over by now. We have serious things to say Monday and I hope

our campaign will say them We don't need jokes we need to be able to demonstrate a stark difference between our party and theirs and show the American people why they need to throw out the obstructionist GOP in both Houses and re-elect Mr. Obama.