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Getbig Main Boards => Politics and Political Issues Board => Topic started by: blacken700 on February 06, 2012, 02:04:52 PM
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Karl Rove ‘offended’ by Clint Eastwood’s Chrysler ad
Posted by Rachel Weiner at 12:52 PM ET, 02/06/2012
:'( :'( :'( :'( :'( :'( :'( :'( :'( :'( :'( :'( :'( :'( :'( :'( :'( :'(
A Chrysler ad aired during the Super Bowl Sunday night has inspired ire among some Republicans and admiration among some Democrats — with both sides seeing a political message that boosts President Obama.
In an ad touting the resurgence of the American auto industry, Clint Eastwood declared that it’s “halftime in America and our second half’s about to begin,” which could be interpreted as a reference to Obama’s second term.
The ad’s themes seem to echo Obama’s own argument that his administration brought the auto industry back from the brink of disaster.
“They almost lost everything,” Eastwood says of Detroit. “But we all pulled together. Now Motor City is fighting again.”
“I was, frankly, offended by it,” said Karl Rove on Fox News Monday. “I'm a huge fan of Clint Eastwood, I thought it was an extremely well-done ad, but it is a sign of what happens when you have Chicago-style politics, and the president of the United States and his political minions are, in essence, using our tax dollars to buy corporate advertising.”
more...
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/the-fix/post/karl-rove-offended-by-clint-eastwoods-chrysler-ad/2012/02/06/gIQAYt3HuQ_blog.html?tid=sm_twitter_washingtonpost
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oh brother - the commercial talked about a city that has hope.
maybe karl rove interpreted it to be about obama. i didn't. there was no mention of any political party.
Rove is offended by this message that americans are pulling together? GMAFB. THe shit ppl whine about...
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Clint is an unapologetic Republican. The ad was not an endorsement of the Obama administration. Rather it was a nod to the Motor City and a US auto industry that has come back from the brink. ::)
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Clint is an unapologetic Republican. The ad was not an endorsement of the Obama administration. Rather it was a nod to the Motor City and an US auto industry that has come back from the brink. ::)
You are 1000% correct.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clint_Eastwood#Politics
I doubt Rove knew that. Eastwood endorsed Mccain in 2008 and has been a repub since Ike.
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Karl Rove ‘offended’ by Clint Eastwood’s Chrysler ad
Posted by Rachel Weiner at 12:52 PM ET, 02/06/2012
:'( :'( :'( :'( :'( :'( :'( :'( :'( :'( :'( :'( :'( :'( :'( :'( :'( :'(
A Chrysler ad aired during the Super Bowl Sunday night has inspired ire among some Republicans and admiration among some Democrats — with both sides seeing a political message that boosts President Obama.
In an ad touting the resurgence of the American auto industry, Clint Eastwood declared that it’s “halftime in America and our second half’s about to begin,” which could be interpreted as a reference to Obama’s second term.
The ad’s themes seem to echo Obama’s own argument that his administration brought the auto industry back from the brink of disaster.
“They almost lost everything,” Eastwood says of Detroit. “But we all pulled together. Now Motor City is fighting again.”
“I was, frankly, offended by it,” said Karl Rove on Fox News Monday. “I'm a huge fan of Clint Eastwood, I thought it was an extremely well-done ad, but it is a sign of what happens when you have Chicago-style politics, and the president of the United States and his political minions are, in essence, using our tax dollars to buy corporate advertising.”
more...
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/the-fix/post/karl-rove-offended-by-clint-eastwoods-chrysler-ad/2012/02/06/gIQAYt3HuQ_blog.html?tid=sm_twitter_washingtonpost
Karl can be "offended" but he can't do shit about it. No one is going to fuck with Clint Eastwood
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Karl can be "offended" but he can't do shit about it. No one is going to fuck with Clint Eastwood
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"Halftime in America" isn't a particularly political message. All it's saying is that we're making a comeback, not that the comeback is thanks to any political party. In fact, I think it's fair to say that our comeback is happening despite both political parties. Either way, Clint Eastwood is philosophically libertarian, so I doubt his message really had any political underpinnings.
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Chrysler CEO Sergio Marchionne said in a radio interview in Detroit Monday that the commercial, in which actor Clinton Eastwood says "it's halftime America, and our second half is about to begin," was not an endorsement of Obama, who declared in his State of the Union address last month that "the American auto industry is back."
"It has zero political content," Marchionne said of the Super Bowl ad in an interview with Detroit radio station 760 AM WJR.
The commercial, called "It's Halftime America," touted the recovery of the American auto companies after the bailouts of 2008 and 2009. The U.S. government lent millions to General Motors and Chrysler, and the companies have seen their fortunes increase along with fellow American car company Ford, which did not accept a federal bailout.
"It was not intended to be any type of political overture on our part," Marchionne continued. "We are as apolitical as you can make us … I wasn't expressing a view and certainly nobody inside Chrysler was attempting to influence decisions."
http://thehill.com/blogs/transportation-report/automobiles/208895-chrysler-ceo-says-clint-eastwood-super-bowl-ad-was-not-political
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How the fuck in America does some four eyed fucking fat bald clown like Karl fucking Rove get to where he is? Someone needs to just tell him to STFUP! As much as I hate the fucking democrats I can't stand idiots on the right. Just worthless shit stains through and through.
As far as America's second half............lol yeah it's coming.....it's called complete financial collapse and WWIII! Haha.......America...... land of the idiots!
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"Halftime in America" isn't a particularly political message. All it's saying is that we're making a comeback, not that the comeback is thanks to any political party. In fact, I think it's fair to say that our comeback is happening despite both political parties. Either way, Clint Eastwood is philosophically libertarian, so I doubt his message really had any political underpinnings.
BARFT
(Bolded and re-sized for truth)
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Eastwood's Super Bowl ad sparks the discord it decries
By James Oliphant
Perhaps the most attention-getting Super Bowl ad — other than that dog blackmailing his owner with tortilla chips to keep quiet over a felinicide, of course — was Clint Eastwood’s paean to a resurgent auto industry in Detroit.
The ad featured Eastwood leveraging his cinematic persona to the hilt, emerging from the shadows while praising and challenging America at the same time.
“It’s halftime in America too,” Eastwood rasped during halftime at the Super Bowl in a manner reminiscent of the Detroiter he played in “Gran Torino.”
“Seems that we’ve lost our heart at times. The fog, the division, the discord and blame made it hard to see what lies ahead. But after those trials, we all rallied around what was right and acted as one. Because that’s what we do. We find a way through tough times, and if we can’t find a way, then we’ll make one,” the actor and director said.
“All that matters now is what’s ahead. How do we come from behind? How do we come together? And how do we win? Detroit’s showing us it can be done. And what’s true about them is true about all of us. This country can’t be knocked out with one punch. We get right back up again, and when we do the world’s going to hear the roar of our engines.”
The ad for Chrysler was intended to be a call for people of all ideological stripes to come together for the common good. But coming as it did at the dawn of a presidential election year and touching upon the highly controversial government bailout of automakers, it didn’t take long for that “fog, division, discord and blame” to assert itself.
“Did I just see Clint Eastwood fronting an auto bailout ad?” groaned conservative pundit Michelle Malkin on Twitter.
Meanwhile, David Axelrod, President Obama’s chief reelection strategist, cheered in a tweet. “Powerful spot,” he said.
On Monday, Karl Rove, the former aide to President George W. Bush, said that he was “offended” by the Eastwood ad, suggesting that the Obama administration had a role in its production.
“I'm a huge fan of Clint Eastwood. I thought it was an extremely well-done ad, but it is a sign of what happens when you have Chicago-style politics, and the president of the United States and his political minions are, in essence, using our tax dollars to buy corporate advertising and the best wishes of the management which is benefited by getting a bunch of our money that they'll never pay back," Rove charged on Fox News.
At the White House media briefing Monday, Jay Carney, the press secretary, said neither the administration nor the Obama campaign had anything to do with the spot.
Still, that doesn’t mean Carney passed on the chance to talk up the auto bailout.
The ad, he said, “does point out a simple fact, which is that the automobile industry in this country was on its back and potentially poised to liquidate three years ago. And this president made decisions that were not very popular at the time that were guided by two important principles: one, that he should do what he could to ensure that 1 million jobs would not be lost; and two, that the American automobile industry should be able to thrive globally if the right conditions were created.”
The man likely to Obama's Republican opponent in the general election, Mitt Romney, has been slammed by Democrats for opposing the bailout of the industry.
"Some people believe in bailouts. I believe in the process of the law,” Romney said last year in Michigan, the state where his father served as governor. “The idea of just writing a check, which is what the auto executives were asking for, was not the right course.... It would have been best had the auto companies gone through the bankruptcy process without having taken $17 billion from government.”
The Treasury Department sunk $12.5 billion into Chrysler in 2009 to help prop up the auto giant. Italian automaker Fiat purchased the government’s 6% stake in the company last year, closing the books on the government’s involvement. All in all, the U.S. lost $1.3 billion on its investment.
The ironic thing about the small-scale brouhaha is that Eastwood is a Republican who opposed the bailout of the industry. (The Chrysler ad never mentions Washington’s capital injection at all, which annoyed some Democrats.) Asked about his presidential leanings last week at an event, Eastwood only allowed some fondness for Ron Paul, saying the libertarian was “as good as anybody else” in the race.
Eastwood said he will decide on a candidate in another month or two after “listening to all that crap on television,” according to the Daily Caller.
Chrysler's chief executive, Sergio Marchionne, on Monday said the ad wasn’t intended to be political.
“It was not intended to be any type of a political overture on our part,” Marchionne said in an interview with WJR radio in Detroit. “Nobody inside Chrysler was attempting to influence decisions. The message is sufficiently universal and neutral that it should be appealing to everybody in this country, and I sincerely hope that it doesn’t get utilized as political fodder in a debate.”
Not even Dirty Harry, however, can prevent that from happening.
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Detroit ‘Comeback' Ad Filmed in New Orleans, L.A.
The Weekly Standard ^ | 2/6/12 | Daniel Halper
Posted on February 6, 2012 5:15:00 PM EST by ColdOne
But contrary to what the might ad suggest, the spot was actually filmed in New Orleans and Los Angles. “Yes, part of it was filmed in New Orleans . . . and some was filmed in various parts—such as Los Angeles,” Dianna Gutierrez said. She specifically points to the tunnel scenes as being taken at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, while the stadium shots were in New Orleans.
Asked whether any part of the ad was filmed in Detroit, Gutierrez said that previously taken footage from various parts of the Motor City was used. No image of Detroit was shot for the specific use in this ad.
(Excerpt) Read more at weeklystandard.com ...
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Didn't the taxpayers lose billions on the Chrysler bailout not Tom mention the bond holders screwed over and the compan given 55 percent to the unions?
does not sound like a promising second half with that type of crap.
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Chrysler was EXTREMELY close to not getting any bailout money. Many of Obama's top advisers wanted Chrysler to go under. I think Chrysler was saved because black people really like the Chrysler 300 :P
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Chrysler was EXTREMELY close to not getting any bailout money. Many of Obama's top advisers wanted Chrysler to go under. I think Chrysler was saved because black people really like the Chrysler 300 :P
The 300 is a true ghetto superstar mobile.
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The 300 is a true ghetto superstar mobile.
I think every damn one of them down here in Miami has the Bentley grill on them
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I think every damn one of them down here in Miami has the Bentley grill on them
LOL!!! True That!!!
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Detroit ‘Comeback' Ad Filmed in New Orleans, L.A.
The Weekly Standard ^ | 2/6/12 | Daniel Halper
Posted on February 6, 2012 5:15:00 PM EST by ColdOne
But contrary to what the might ad suggest, the spot was actually filmed in New Orleans and Los Angles. “Yes, part of it was filmed in New Orleans . . . and some was filmed in various parts—such as Los Angeles,” Dianna Gutierrez said. She specifically points to the tunnel scenes as being taken at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, while the stadium shots were in New Orleans.
Asked whether any part of the ad was filmed in Detroit, Gutierrez said that previously taken footage from various parts of the Motor City was used. No image of Detroit was shot for the specific use in this ad.
(Excerpt) Read more at weeklystandard.com ...
Hahahaha, you can't write this shit. I wonder why they didn't use Detroit? Too many boarded up houses? ::)
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Half Time in America; We Need a New Quarterback
Townhall.com ^ | February 7, 2012 | John Ransom
If you are keeping score at home it’s Chrysler $12.5 billion, NBC $12 million, with a taxpayer loss of $133 billion. Oh, and the city of Detroit is just minutes away, literally, from being more broke than Greece.
Look, I’m a sucker for marketing as much as the next guy, but I have a lot of friends who were rightly outraged by Chrysler’s political ad for the auto bailout that starred Clint Eastwood and aired at halftime on NBC during the Super Bowl. It was more than just the subverted boosterism for Obama that was outrageous. There were many levels of outrage for even discriminating tastes.
If you missed it, the commercial was a two-minute, Chamber of Commerce-type pitch for more government money to make America great, with, um, Detroit leading the way.
Sure; technically, it was well-produced with compelling visual images and the iconic narrative voice of Clint Eastwood. The TV time alone cost Chrysler $12 million.
Chrysler came up $1.3 billion short paying the US Treasury, but they have money for junk-food like Super Bowl commercials.
And it almost made me want to believe. But as Yahoo Autos points out: “There's no better example of the difference between sentiment and sentimentality, and just how many of us no longer notice.”
Because unfortunately, I’ve looked under the hood of the Detroit/Chrysler story the filmmakers are selling and this one’s a lemon.
“I’ve always been very liberal when it comes to people thinking for themselves,” Eastwood told the Los Angeles Times back in November, “But I’m a big hawk on cutting the deficit. I was against the stimulus thing too. We shouldn’t be bailing out the banks and car companies. If a CEO can’t figure out how to make his company profitable, then he shouldn’t be the CEO.”
Think for ourselves, except when you are pitching policies you disagreed with three months ago?
For those with a less acute political and financial antenna, let’s make this simple:
It was bad enough that we bailed out private corporations. It’s even worse that those bailouts tended to favor Obama’s biggest donors in 2008- financial services and unions. The latest inspector general report says the bailout losses so far equal about $133 billion, with about 19 percent of that loss coming from the automotive industry. Over time, some of that money may be recouped, but total losses are expected to be from $50 billion to $75 billion, and they could be higher. The total bailout cost for automakers is expected to be about $25 billion.
“Look at me. I’ve had to make films for less money or go out and find my own money,” Eastwood said in the Times article in response to the reporter’s pro-bailout pushback. “On ‘Mystic River,’ I had to cut my salary and everyone else’s to get it made. I know the score. If I start to grind out two or three turkeys, I’ll be unemployed, just like anyone else.”
Well, not everyone.
Despite the “Happy Days are Here Again” theme song coming from automakers GM and Chrysler, both companies are deeply broke. If they weren’t, the US Treasury wouldn't be looking at losses of $25 billion for the bailouts.
But for the politically connected here in the USA there are always bailouts or some such federal program that will take care of unions, or banks, or green energy companies, or federal contractors like GE, Fannie Mae, GM and Chrysler.
That’s why the Eastwood ad resonated with Democrats from David Axelrod, to Obama’s Michigan campaign.
From the CSMonitor:
“Another great Chrysler ad – the US auto industry is back,” tweeted the Michigan branch of Mr. Obama’s reelection campaign following its broadcast just prior to the second-half kickoff.
David Axelrod, once and (likely future) top political aide to Obama's national campaign, added this tweet: “Powerful spot. Did Clint shoot that, or just narrate it?”
So to add a little more salt to taxpayers' wounds, football fans, whose only partisan worries at halftime of the Super Bowl should be Giants vs. Patriots, bathroom vs. Madonna, have to watch our tax dollars fund one of the main themes coming out of Obama’s reelection campaign: “The US auto industry is back thanks to my generous donation to their campaign- if you don’t believe me, you’ll believe Clint Eastwood.”
And… oh, by the way… Detroit, the City That’s Back, according to Chrysler, is on the verge of bankruptcy because of: 1) shrinking population due to mismanagement in the auto industry and 2) public unions are out of control.
“The fiscal crisis in the city that has lost a quarter of its population since 2000 is coming to a head,” reports Bloomberg. “The state is combing Detroit’s books for evidence of financial emergency. Meanwhile, Democratic Mayor Dave Bing is racing to wrest concessions from 48 bargaining units to erase a $200 million deficit in the home of General Motors Co. and the cradle of the U.S. auto industry. Otherwise, the city of 714,000 dominated by Democrats may face a Republican-appointed manager with authority to sell assets and nullify contracts. State Treasurer Andy Dillon has said Detroit will run out of cash by May, and called for concessions by early February.”
Ohmygosh! A Republican? Balancing the books without a bailout?
Look, Detroit’s been in crisis for decades, not a few years, and the culprit is unions, unions, unions.
So let’s sum up what the taxpayers got for the $12 million commercial produced by Chrysler: A great visual experience, filmed in two entirely different cities than the subject city, with a wonderful narration by Eastwood about policies that he doesn’t agree with, pushing a message about a car company and the city of Detroit that isn’t true in any factual or even literary sense.
See? That’s proof that it has to be an Obama campaign commercial.
But here's why we are really offended: Because if this commercial represents halftime in America, we need a new quarterback.
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do we all agree with lifelong republican clint eastwood, as well as the chrysler CEO, that the commercial wasn't pro-obama?
karl rove was way off base here. He's offended by a message of 'americans are working together to overcome crisis".
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do we all agree with lifelong republican clint eastwood, as well as the chrysler CEO, that the commercial wasn't pro-obama?
karl rove was way off base here. He's offended by a message of 'americans are working together to overcome crisis".
I disagree with you entirely. Obama's main theme is the auto bailout, which is hardly a "success".
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but that has nothing to do with this commercial.
this is a commercial for a car company, narrated by a guy who supported mccain and hates obama with a passion.
It played at halftime of the sb, with the message that we're onlyu halfway done turning things around (the company has come a long way but has a ways to go).
IMO, this is just karl rove trying to see "karl rove" in the headline. Completely off base with the facts, he was.
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'obamas theme'... /?????????????
That's irrelevant here.
Palin's main theme was 'drill baby drill'.
And if David Alexrod saw a BP commercial and came out and say "clearly, this was BP and narrator Alec Baldwin supporting the tea party..." we'd laugh him out of the room as being a complete ass.
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but that has nothing to do with this commercial.
this is a commercial for a car company, narrated by a guy who supported mccain and hates obama with a passion.
It played at halftime of the sb, with the message that we're onlyu halfway done turning things around (the company has come a long way but has a ways to go).
IMO, this is just karl rove trying to see "karl rove" in the headline. Completely off base with the facts, he was.
no - its a company that still owes taxpayers billions of dollars who obama is running around cheering as a success.
Stop lying and stop kneepadding. Just be honest.
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no - its a company that still owes taxpayers billions of dollars who obama is running around cheering as a success.
Stop lying and stop kneepadding. Just be honest.
If I'm kneepadding soemthing, i'll admit it.
You're saying any company that makes a commerical using a lifelong republican voice - if the company happened to receive stim dollars - then they're kneepadding libs?
Cause you do know a lot of people - like FL gov Rick Scott - got hundreds of millions in stim funds, right? ;)
If rick scott makes a commercial saying the FL economy is improving - he's kneepadding obama, right?
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If I'm kneepadding soemthing, i'll admit it.
You're saying any company that makes a commerical using a lifelong republican voice - if the company happened to receive stim dollars - then they're kneepadding libs?
Cause you do know a lot of people - like FL gov Rick Scott - got hundreds of millions in stim funds, right? ;)
If rick scott makes a commercial saying the FL economy is improving - he's kneepadding obama, right?
You are incapable of knowing when you are kneepadding. Chrysler is hardly a success and still owes us billions of dollars. Detroit is on the brink of collapse as well.
I dont give a damn about some hypothetical that did not happen.
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You are incapable of knowing when you are kneepadding. Chrysler is hardly a success and still owes us billions of dollars. Detroit is on the brink of collapse as well.
I dont give a damn about some hypothetical that did not happen.
All "240" has left is hypotheticals. That in itself shows how badly he is detached from reality.
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I dont give a damn about some hypothetical that did not happen.
;D
I damn near fainted when i read this..
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;D
I damn near fainted when i read this..
:o What? How can that be? You need a brain first for that to happen.
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:o What? How can that be? You need a brain first for that to happen.
woah.. that comeback was awesome :-\
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THE GOOD, THE AD AND THE UGLY
Eastwood joins 'apolitical' Chrysler boss in defending Super Bowl spot as GOP charges bias
http://www.thedaily.com/page/2012/02/07/020712-news-super-bowl-eastwood-1-4
By Luke Jerod Kummer and Erik Hayden Tuesday, February 7, 2012
WASHINGTON — Chrysler’s chief executive is insisting his company’s Super Bowl ad starring Clint Eastwood has “zero political content,” even though members of the advertising team that created the spot have ties to President Obama.
Democrats, including the White House, cheered “Halftime in America” and its upbeat message in which Eastwood offers the auto industry comeback as proof of America’s resilience. Many Republicans, though, panned it, calling it payback for the government bailout Chrysler received in 2008. And Eastwood confirmed CEO Sergio Marchionne’s contention that the ad was not an endorsement of any candidate.
“We are as apolitical as you can make us,” Marchionne said in a radio interview in Detroit yesterday. “I wasn’t expressing a view and certainly nobody inside Chrysler was attempting to influence decisions.”
Eastwood echoed Marchionne’s comments.
“I am certainly not politically affiliated with Mr. Obama,” Eastwood told Fox’s “The O’Reilly Factor.” “It was meant to be a message ... just about job growth and the spirit of America. I think all politicians will agree with it.”
Still, the advertising agency that created the commercial — Wieden + Kennedy — has members who have designed Obama campaign items or who have worked on behalf of Democratic causes.
The creative minds behind the ad are in the agency’s Portland, Ore., branch. Aaron Allen designed a poster for the 2008 Obama campaign and Jimm Lasser designed a basketball sneaker called the “Obama Force One,” with an image of the president on the soles and the message “A Black Man Runs and a Nation Is Behind Him.” Lasser displayed the shoe in a 2008 gallery exhibition with the tagline “The Dunk on McCain.”
Elsewhere at Wieden + Kennedy, which has Kraft and Coca-Cola on its client list, global public relations director Joani Wardwell worked in the press office of the Clinton White House. She started as a grassroots organizer for Democratic causes in the early 1990s and continues to do political consulting.
“I’ve managed to always keep my toe dipped in the water that way,” she said in 2009.
The Wieden + Kennedy spot set itself apart in two ways: its length — two minutes, compared with the standard 30 seconds — and its powerful message.
“Detroit’s showing us it can be done,” Eastwood tells the audience. “And, what’s true about them is true about all of us ... This country can’t be knocked out with one punch.”
American carmakers have seen better times since receiving taxpayer funds. Collectively, Chrysler, General Motors and Ford sold slightly more than 6 million vehicles last year, a 15 percent increase over 2010. However, taxpayers will never recover about $20 billion of the $80 billion spent on the bailout, according to a recent government report.
Obama has increasingly highlighted his role in keeping the auto industry alive after many analysts believed it — and the millions of jobs it supports — was on its last legs. The president frequently brings up Detroit as an achievement on the campaign trail and made it a centerpiece of his State of the Union address.
It was no surprise, then, that the ad was a hit with the West Wing, White House communications director Dan Pfeiffer tweeting: “Saving the America auto industry: Something Eminem and Clint Eastwood can agree on.”
A top Republican had a far different take.
Karl Rove, the former adviser to President George W. Bush, told Fox News yesterday he was “frankly offended” by the commercial and called it an example of “Chicago-style politics” in which the president and “his political minions” were being repaid by Chrysler for the taxpayer money the company received.
But not every Republican thinks there’s such a clear-cut relationship.
“It’s only natural that people ask that question given how much this dovetails with the president’s own re-election narrative,” said Bruce Haynes, a GOP media strategist.
Haynes, though, dismissed the notion there was any active coordination, adding, “I think that it’s a bit of stretch to suggest that an agency in Portland did an ad about a car company in Detroit that’s owned by Fiat in Italy to fulfill the wills and aims of the White House in Washington.”
– With Kyle Stock
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Yes, It Is Halftime In America – So Now Is The Time To Get Your Financial Priorities In Order
Courtesy of Michael Snyder of Economic Collapse
Did you see the Chrysler commercial featuring Clint Eastwood that aired during the Super Bowl the other night? It was entitled "It's Halftime In America", and it was truly a great ad. To me, it was the most memorable Super Bowl ad this year by far. It conjured up images of the America that so many of us remember so fondly. It reminded us of how life in this country used to be. Unfortunately, America is currently headed down a road that is taking us in the opposite direction.
Yes, it is halftime in America, but there is no guarantee that what is ahead is going to be great. In fact, if we continue to make the same choices that we have been making, a national nightmare is inevitable. Let us hope and pray for a fundamental change of direction for America, but let us also prepare for what is going to happen if that does not take place. There is a "pause in the action" at the moment, so now is the time to get your financial priorities in order. Now is the time to prepare for the storm that is coming. If you wait until the storm is right on top of you it will probably be too late.
But I must admit that I really loved that ad. First of all, any Super Bowl ad that includes Clint Eastwood is almost automatically going to be a great ad. Secondly, it was very refreshing to see a commercial address some of the very serious problems that this country is facing.
The ad ended with Eastwood making the following statement....
"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"
A video of the complete ad is posted below....
Kudos to Chrysler for producing such an extraordinary ad. I have to admit that I actually prefer Chrysler to Ford and GM. I like their style and I think they make some very nice vehicles.
But Chrysler is far from out of the woods. They almost went under during the last recession, and if the U.S. economy experiences another major recession they might not survive it.
Yes, Chrysler did earn $183 million in 2011.
But in 2010, Chrysler lost $652 million.
Hopefully Chrysler can string a few more profitable years together, but there is certainly no guarantee that is going to happen.
As I have written about previously, the U.S. auto industry is in the midst of a nightmarish long-term decline.
The combined U.S. market share of the "Big Three" U.S. automakers fell from 70% in 1998 to 53% in 2008.
When you examine the numbers over a longer time frame, they are even more striking.
For example, in 1970 General Motors had about a 60 percent share of the U.S. automobile market, but today that figure is down to about 20 percent.
In an effort to cut costs, U.S. automakers have been eliminating jobs and sending jobs out of the country.
In the year 2000, the U.S. auto industry employed more than 1.3 million Americans. Today, the U.S. auto industry employs about 698,000 people.
So the U.S. auto industry has not exactly bounced back.
They have survived for now, but there is no guarantee that this is going to be permanent.
Many considered the Chrysler Super Bowl ad to be an endorsement of the auto bailouts and of the economic policies of the Obama administration.
But that wasn't the case at all. In fact, it turns out that Clint Eastwood was actually a harsh critic of the auto bailouts as Reuters recently noted....
"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."
And Clint Eastwood certainly did not mean to endorse Obama during the commercial. The following is what Eastwood told Fox News about the ad....
"I just want to say that the spin stops with you guys, and there is no spin in that ad. On this I am certain.
l am certainly not politically affiliated with Mr. Obama. It was meant to be a message about just about job growth and the spirit of America. I think all politicians will agree with it. I thought the spirit was OK."
The cold, hard reality of the matter is that America has not "bounced back" since 2008. Sadly, the truth is that we are even in worse condition than we were back then....
-Our national debt has risen by about 50 percent since 2008.
-Our states are in more debt than ever.
-Our local governments are in more debt than ever.
-The U.S. economy has lost about 6 million jobs since 2008.
-Approximately 14 million more Americans have gone on food stamps since Barack Obama became president.
-More Americans are living in poverty than ever before.
-New home sales in the United States hit a brand new all-time record low during 2011.
-The number of "long-term unemployed workers" has more than doubled since Barack Obama entered the White House.
-The amount of money that the federal government gives directly to Americans has increased by 32 percent since Barack Obama entered the White House.
-Despite claims that things are "getting better", the truth is that the percentage of Americans that actually have jobs is almost exactly the same as it was two years ago.
Amazingly, Barack Obama seems to think that he has done a good job and that he deserves a second term. On Sunday, Obama told NBC's Matt Lauer the following....
"I deserve a second term, but we’re not done"
Many Americans are buying into the hype. A new ABC News/Washington Post poll has found that Barack Obama's approval rating is actually rising.
But it won't last long. As the economy crumbles his approval rating will start going down once again.
The sad truth is that America is in the middle of a long-term economic decline because our economy is not built on a solid foundation.
The false prosperity that we are enjoying now is being fueled by the biggest debt bubble in the history of the world. We consume far more wealth than we produce, and we pay for it by constantly going into more debt.
At some point the merry-go-round is going to stop and when it does it is going to be incredibly painful.
An increasing number of Americans are waking up to this reality. One recent survey found that 61 percent of all Americans believe that there will be "a major catastrophic event" in the United States within the next 20 years. A significant portion of them believe that the "catastrophic event" will be economic in nature.
That same survey found that only 15 percent of all Americans feel as though they are completely prepared for the coming catastrophic event.
Remember what happened back in 2008. When the financial crisis struck, millions of Americans lost their jobs very rapidly. Since many of them did not have any money stored up, a lot of them lost their homes as well.
Since it is "halftime in America", now is the time to get prepared for the next great financial crisis.
Now is the time to reduce your expenses.
Now is the time to get out of debt.
Now is the time to set aside some money so that you will have something to live on if you do happen to lose your job. I typically recommend that you have at least 6 months of living expenses stored up.
Now is the time to start a side business. Even if you are broke, there are some businesses out there that you can start up for no money. It isn't easy to start a business with no money, but it can be done.
Now is the time to grow a garden. Fruits and vegetables are often some of the most expensive items at the grocery store, and by growing them yourself you become less dependent on the system.
And that is the key. We all want to try to become less dependent on the system.
There is no guarantee that your job will always be there.
There is no guarantee that your insurance company or the financial institutions that you are working with today will always be there.
There is no guarantee that the government will be there "to save you" when you really need it.
Yes, it is halftime in America.
So get ready for the second half, because it is going to be a real nightmare.
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Clint Eastwood defends Super Bowl ad, denies Obama link
By James Oliphant
Clint Eastwood defended his now-controversial Chrysler ad that aired during the Super bowl, in which he implored the nation to overcome its differences and work together to revive the economy, denying any ties to President Obama and saying that the spot was intended to be apolitical.
Eastwood on Monday evening gave a statement to Fox News’ “The O’Reilly Factor”--an implicit nod to conservatives who might have been riled by what they viewed as an Obama reelection campaign commercial. The ad celebrates the city of Detroit, suggesting that it was teetering on the edge of collapse before the residents “all pulled together,” as Eastwood says in the spot.
It was unclear to viewers what the ad was promoting because no cars are shown and Chrysler’s name isn’t mentioned until the end. But “all pulled together” was seen by critics such as Karl Rove as code for the government's bailout of Chrysler and General Motors. Rove on Monday accused Eastwood and Chrysler of working hand-and-hand with Obama’s campaign.
"I just want to say that the spin stops with you guys, and there is no spin in that ad. On this I am certain,” Eastwood declared, referring to O’Reilly’s long-established “No-Spin Zone.”
“l am certainly not politically affiliated with Mr. Obama. It was meant to be a message about just about job growth and the spirit of America. I think all politicians will agree with it. I thought the spirit was OK. I am not supporting any politician,” the actor and award-winning director said.
“Chrysler to their credit didn’t even have cars in the ad. Anything they gave me for it went to charity,” he added. “If Obama or any other politician wants to run with the spirit of that ad, I say go for it."
O’Reilly, who repeatedly asserted how tight he is with Eastwood, defended the star, calling him independent and a “straight shooter.” (Eastwood’s countless cinematic victims will testify to that.)
“Now Eastwood--who tried to do a good thing,” O’Reilly said, “now this guy is getting hammered as an ideologue. He’s caught in the political wars. That’s why people are cautious about doing any of this stuff. I don’t think that’s fair to Eastwood.”
Still, O’Reilly guest, public relations expert Mike Paul, was not assuaged. He saw a subliminal message in the spot favoring the president.
“To me, it was a classic 'thank you' ad,” Paul said. “Thank you for bailing us out.”
“I know this guy,” O’Reilly said. “He’s not trying to get anyone elected.”
Regardless of intent, the timing could not have been better for Obama. Not only did it give the White House a chance to crow about the auto industry bailout, the ad was undoubtedly seen by millions and millions of potential voters. The game between the Giants and Patriots was the most-watched TV program of all time, racking up 111 million viewers.
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Scary and telling the amount of publicity this trivia is drumming up.
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;D
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I think we should consider granting Clint Eastwood title of honorary getbigger, (unrelated to this commercial).
(http://marshallmatlock.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/clint-eastwood-shirtless-banner.jpg)
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I watched the commercial, and I didn't even get an inclining of an idea that it was related in any way to the Democrats or Obama.
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I think we should consider granting Clint Eastwood title of honorary getbigger, (unrelated to this commercial).
Dude has five Oscars:
Best Picture for: Unforgiven (1992)
Best Director for: Unforgiven (1992)
Irving G. Thalberg Memorial Award (1995)
Best Motion Picture of the Year for: Million Dollar Baby (2004)
Best Achievement in Directing for: Million Dollar Baby (2004)
nuff said! ::)
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Dude has five Oscars:
Best Picture for: Unforgiven (1992)
Best Director for: Unforgiven (1992)
Irving G. Thalberg Memorial Award (1995)
Best Motion Picture of the Year for: Million Dollar Baby (2004)
Best Achievement in Directing for: Million Dollar Baby (2004)
nuff said! ::)
His achievements are definitely on par with those of top getbiggers.
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Clint Eastwood's Super Bowl showdown: Chrysler vs. conservatives
When I sat down to talk politics with Clint Eastwood in November, the 81-year-old movie icon made it crystal clear that he didn’t vote for Barack Obama in 2008 and wasn’t planning to in 2012 either. In fact, since Clint first voted for president, way back in 1952, he couldn’t remember ever voting for a Democrat.
Moreover, when it came to government stimulus, he had this to say: “We shouldn’t be bailing out the banks and car companies. If a CEO can’t figure out how to make his company profitable, then he shouldn’t be the CEO.”
So if Clint was against bailouts, why did he do the now infamous Super Bowl ad for Chrysler? And why did it hit such a raw nerve with conservatives, who’ve been up in arms for the last few days, convinced that Dirty Harry had suddenly become a shill for Obama?
To hear the caterwauling on the right, you’d think that Clint was proposing that Detroit embrace sharia law, not sell more made-in-America automobiles. Fox News commentator Karl Rove labeled the ad “Chicago-style politics,” saying it was a sign of what happens when “the president of the United States and political minions are in essence using our tax dollars to buy corporate advertising.” National Review editor Rich Lowry lambasted the ad as a ludicrous deification of Detroit, arguing that “If Detroit is a model for our future, we should prepare for national collapse … it remains a byword for urban apocalypse.”
New York Post film critic Kyle Smith was just as scathing, saying: “It’s hard to think of Clint Eastwood as dishonest, isn’t it? But it’s either that or he’s just too dumb to realize his Super Bowl ad was an Obama campaign commercial.”
All I can say is: Did they see the same ad that the rest of us did? Or as one commenter on YouTube put it: “Would someone please tell the right-wing hyperventilators that ‘working together’ is not a code for communism.”
I don’t pretend to know Eastwood all that well, but having interviewed him a few times over the years, it seems pretty clear to me that he did the ad because, personal politics aside, he’s delighted to see — and be associated with — an underdog American company that’s actually generating home-grown manufacturing jobs. Any effort to put blue-collar folk back to work is OK with him, even if his natural political instincts made him suspicious of big government putting Chrysler back in the driver’s seat.
Eastwood, thank God, is not a professional politician, so for him, job creation trumps ideology. Unfortunately, in today’s hyper-partisan political universe, that sort of attitude is akin to heresy.
Still, something else was at work here. First off, the Super Bowl is such a huge spectacle — this year’s broadcast had roughly 110 million viewers — that in the new social media era almost any big event will, by its mass-cult nature, generate some kind of controversy. Sometimes it’s a tasteless ad, sometimes it’s an inappropriate gesture during the halftime show. But something, however minor, is almost guaranteed to provoke a storm of indignation, even if nearly all the Sturm und Drang evaporates in a matter of days.
But the uproar over the Chrysler ad also has a lot to do with Eastwood’s iconic status as America’s most beloved tough guy. After all, Eminem did an ad for Chrysler during last year’s Super Bowl that was virtually indistinguishable in tone from the Eastwood spot without prompting even a ripple of GOP protest. So it wasn’t just the message, it was also the messenger.
Conservative operatives like Rove had every reason to view the ad as being an Obama vehicle — if the Obama campaign were hiring a spokesman to get its message across to swing voters, Eastwood would be at the top of the list. The only problem with this logic was that the Super Bowl spot was made by a car company, not the White House. And despite all of the conspiracy theorizing, there’s no evidence that Chrysler paid $12.8 million for the two-minute spot as political payback to the White House. Chrysler simply had the good fortune of finding the world’s best pitchman for its message.
The message itself was shrewd. The ad copy identified Chrysler with classic American can-do spirit, with the sandpaper-voiced Eastwood saying: “This country can’t be knocked out with one punch. We get right back up again, and when we do, the world’s going to hear the roar of our engines.”
If you believed that Obama was somehow the beneficiary of this uplift, it hit a raw nerve, because in politics, the candidate who usually wins is the one with the most optimistic message, which is why Ronald Reagan, propelled by his “Morning in America” maxim, won a landslide reelection victory in 1984. But the candidates in this year’s GOP presidential primaries have painted a gloomy portrait of America, presided over by Barack Obama, as a nation in decline.
The Eastwood ad sketches a different story line, arguing that America, led by embattled Detroit, is ready for a comeback. It hit an especially sensitive spot, since most conservatives have been on the other side of the bailout issue — after all, it was Mitt Romney who penned a 2008 op-ed article for the New York Times saying, “Let Detroit Go Bankrupt.”
In fact, Chrysler has already paid back nearly 90% of the bailout funds it received from both the Bush and Obama administrations. That’s a little-seen factoid that may have been glossed over in the Super Bowl ad media onslaught, but I suspect it had an impact on Eastwood’s decision to do the ad. When we talked in November, he said he was against bailouts, but he also expressed admiration for people who, in economic hard times, found a way to succeed.
“When people are forced to figure things out,” he said, “it makes you more creative at what you do.” In simplified form, that’s what has happened to the American auto industry, which is perhaps why Clint was happy to lend his grizzled gravitas to its turn-around saga. Whether it’s in the movies or real life, people love comeback stories. And when it’s Clint Eastwood telling the story, it’s awfully hard to argue that he’s put politics ahead of principle.
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Great Story
Moral of the story: Super Partisan Blinded Republicans place politics over job creation. And arent afraid to tell you so.
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it's almost comical.
karl rove offended about a non-partisan commercial, narrated by a staunch republican. Why?
Cause it gives americans hope for a national recovery - which works against Rove's political goals.
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it's almost comical.
karl rove offended about a non-partisan commercial, narrated by a staunch republican. Why?
Cause it gives americans hope for a national recovery - which works against Rove's political goals.
Detroit is on the brink of collapse and selling off assets. Swaths of land are abandoned and the city is less than half the size it once was. The ex mayor is in jail for corruption.
You ccall that recovery?
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Detroit is on the brink of collapse and selling off assets. Swaths of land are abandoned and the city is less than half the size it once was. The ex mayor is in jail for corruption.
You ccall that recovery?
Not sure what youre argument is here.. seems like youre just throwing shit at a wall to see if it sticks
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Not sure what youre argument is here.. seems like youre just throwing shit at a wall to see if it sticks
Just stating facts. you can get caught up in all the hope and change emotionalism all you like, still does not change the fact that Detroit is a war zone, a fiscal disaster, a prime example of leftist policy failures, and no model for recovery or the future.
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Just stating facts. you can get caught up in all the hope and change emotionalism all you like, still does not change the fact that Detroit is a war zone, a fiscal disaster, a prime example of leftist policy failures, and no model for recovery or the future.
So Clint Eastwood was wrong to do the commercial?
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So Clint Eastwood was wrong to do the commercial?
No, but they definately tried to sell a false reality based on emotion and not fact.
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No, but they definately tried to sell a false reality based on emotion and not fact.
How dare REPUBLICANS do that.
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How dare REPUBLICANS do that.
I don't care who it was, it was all emotional pap not in any way connected with fact.
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No, but they definately tried to sell a false reality based on emotion and not fact.
Ok.. show me the Economic numbers of Detroit from 2008-2012. As well as the Chrystlers numbers for the same time period. If there is a downward trend in either of those graphs.. then the commercial false. If there is a positive trend... then maybe you need to go shut the fuck up....ill be waiting
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Detroit is on the brink of collapse and selling off assets. Swaths of land are abandoned and the city is less than half the size it once was. The ex mayor is in jail for corruption.
You ccall that recovery?
This looks like a recovery to me:
In 2009, Detroit's official unemployment rate was more than 20 percent
In 2011, Detroit's official unemployment rate was down to 11.2 percent.
http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/280259/20120111/detroit-economy-improving-big-three-make-comeback.htm
Helluva good trendline, and Eastwood was right - they're only halfway there.
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This looks like a recovery to me:
In 2009, Detroit's official unemployment rate was more than 20 percent
In 2011, Detroit's official unemployment rate was down to 11.2 percent.
http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/280259/20120111/detroit-economy-improving-big-three-make-comeback.htm
Helluva good trendline, and Eastwood was right - they're only halfway there.
go on 333386 don't let facts get in your way,you never do :D :D :D
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Chrysler retail sales shot up 45% in December, for the best month’s retail sales in four years and the best total sales since May 2008. Chrysler’s US sales rose 26% in 2011 versus 2010, the best percentage sales gain of any full-line maker, gaining 1.3 points of market share.
December U.S. sales were 138,019, 37% higher than in December 2010 (100,702 units).
For the year, Chrysler Group sales totaled 1.37 million units, up 26% over 2010. Every brand posted solid sales gains during 2011.
December marked Chrysler Group’s 21st-consecutive month of year-over-year sales gains and seventh-consecutive month of sales increases of at least 20 percent.
http://www.allpar.com/news/index.php/2012/01/chrysler-sales-shoot-up-37-26-for-2011
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LOL. And where did they get the money from? Other taxpayers! So they made other people poorer to make those people richer.
Its like taking a cup of water out of one end of the pool, dumping it in the other side, and acting like you did something productive.
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Dodge
Sales of the Dodge Grand Caravan, the brand’s volume leader, increased 67% in December, compared with the same month in 2009. Sales of the Dodge Nitro mid-size sport utility were up 104% in December, while sales of the Dodge Challenger were up 31%. The first sales of the 2011 Dodge Durango began in late December. In 2010, Dodge brand sales increased 17%, compared with sales in 2009.
http://www.allpar.com/news/index.php/2011/01/chrysler-sales-soar-16-in-december
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So in closing.. The commercial was about the rebounding of Crysler and the facts show very positive economic growth. Whats the problem?
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So in closing.. The commercial was about the rebounding of Crysler and the facts show very positive economic growth. Whats the problem?
Maybe because they still owe the taxpayer over a billion dollars which will never be paid?
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LOL. And where did they get the money from? Other taxpayers! So they made other people poorer to make those people richer.
Its like taking a cup of water out of one end of the pool, dumping it in the other side, and acting like you did something productive.
or like posting 70,000 + posts on a body building web site and thinking your going to change an election :D :D
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33, the argument has shifted from
1) This is an obama commercial (debunked by eastwood and producer).
2) The detroit economy is not recovering (we have the numbers saying it is)
and now we're down to
3) But but but it's wrong that any company should take govt bailouts.
That's where we are now. Pretty funny. Original statements debunked, now we're putting the entire govt assistance system on trial. I got news for ya - that ain't changing. Repubs and dems alike have been throwing billions at US firms to keep them in business, and since these companies do pay taxes and employ millions of people who also pay taxes - you start to understand WHY the govt doesn't let these companies die. It's like buying medicine for your sick cow. you *could* just let that heffer die, but if you give it $5 worth of medicine, it can give you $5000 worth of milk.
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33, the argument has shifted from
1) This is an obama commercial (debunked by eastwood and producer).
2) The detroit economy is not recovering (we have the numbers saying it is)
and now we're down to
3) But but but it's wrong that any company should take govt bailouts.
That's where we are now. Pretty funny. Original statements debunked, now we're putting the entire govt assistance system on trial. I got news for ya - that ain't changing. Repubs and dems alike have been throwing billions at US firms to keep them in business, and since these companies do pay taxes and employ millions of people who also pay taxes - you start to understand WHY the govt doesn't let these companies die. It's like buying medicine for your sick cow. you *could* just let that heffer die, but if you give it $5 worth of medicine, it can give you $5000 worth of milk.
The makers od the ad made ads for obama and are tied to his campaign. Did you miss that?
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http://newsone.com/nation/nomul7/detroit-is-broke-by-april-outsiders-may-takeover-city-finanaces
Real recovery 240. ::) ::)
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The makers od the ad made ads for obama and are tied to his campaign. Did you miss that?
Wow, someone who was paid to do a commercial had a political opinion?
33, you donate money to politicians in which you believe - you are 'tied' to them.
If someone uses your lawyer services, they're not suddenly 'supporting tea party canddiates'.
They're just using a lawyer who happens to be politically involved.
Are you saying no television company (or any service) sohuld be used if they have political beliefs?
Are you saying I shouldn't buy gas from the guy up the street, cause he's an obama voter and any time I pump, I'm putting obama into office?
it gets silly now, dude.
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http://newsone.com/nation/nomul7/detroit-is-broke-by-april-outsiders-may-takeover-city-finanaces
Real recovery 240. ::) ::)
I thought it was a Crystler commercial
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hahaha he is still trying to spin this and cry about Obama.
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Eastwood 'halftime in America' ad inspires debate
Carla Marinucci
San Francisco adman Jeff Goodby was watching the Super Bowl on Sunday - right in the stands - when his cell phone erupted with excited text messages: "Check out that Democratic ad!" and "See that Republican ad?"
The unlikely sensation was actor Clint Eastwood, a Republican, starring in a gritty, two-minute television commercial for Chrysler that went viral. As pictures of American workers flashed on the screen, the star who forged the phrase "make my day" kicked off a national political debate with a new tagline: "It's halftime in America."
Goodby, whose agency, Goodby Silverstein & Partners, has created award-winning ads and put the phrase "Got Milk?" into the national lexicon, said the memorable car spot about America "roaring back" was "beautiful and well done, an inspiration."
The national discussion of the commercial underscores the magic of advertising: how one well-crafted spot selling everyday products can distill the yearnings and dreams of average Americans in a way that political teams selling candidates can only hope to achieve.
But there are such moments. In 1984, San Francisco adman Hal Riney debuted "Morning in America," the iconic spot for President Ronald Reagan's re-election campaign, sending the message of a nation emerging "prouder and stronger and better" from its struggles through a recession.
Party mixer
Goodby said the Oregon ad agency of Wieden+Kennedy, which created the Eastwood spot, also aimed to sell good feelings. The ad "did a good job of avoiding political overtones by using a Republican spokesperson," an actor with longtime GOP loyalties, Goodby added, and melding it with "a Democratic message" of economic comeback.
Talking up the rebound of the auto industry and a resurgent America was hardly political, he said: "What's not to agree with?"
Plenty, according to leading GOP backers and insiders including Karl Rove, who called the Eastwood ad "offensive," and who have eviscerated the Chrysler spot as thinly veiled political propaganda aimed at boosting President Obama's re-election agenda.
Bob Gardner, who heads San Francisco marketing firm the Advocacy Group and is a veteran of national GOP political campaigns, said of the spot aired before a record 111.3 million Super Bowl viewers: "At the end, it should have said, 'I'm Barack Obama and I approve of this message - and thank goodness I didn't have to pay for it.' "
The GOP's scathing reaction to the ad was in sharp contrast to praise from Democrats such as Obama senior adviser David Axelrod, who within minutes of the ad's debut tweeted that it was "powerful" - and praised Republican Eastwood for his involvement.
With California Democrats holding their statewide convention this weekend in San Diego, controversy over the Eastwood commercial's effectiveness raises a key question for Republicans and Democrats as the 2012 election approaches: Which party will more effectively seize a positive message in the presidential campaign?
Negative message
"Republicans don't have a positive message. It's all about 'Obama's a bum,' " said state Democratic chair John Burton, who will address an estimated 3,000 party faithful this weekend.
Burton, who has known Eastwood for a long time, said his friend "was doing an ad about what he believes in - that people want to be positive; they want to be in favor of something, instead of against stuff."
Because Republican presidential candidates for months have been pounding the president for being "antireligion," "antibusiness" and "socialist," some Republicans worry that they're too attached to negative messaging as the nation's job and economic numbers appear to be on the uptick.
"They're using anything and everything to attack Obama - except, of course, a good candidate," said Goodby, who describes himself as "a registered Republican who votes Democratic."
Gardner, who created campaign spots for President Gerald Ford and then-Rep. Dick Cheney, praised the choice of Eastwood for the ad, calling him an American icon. But he argued that the ad's content was a different matter: It didn't sell cars as much as a "subliminal political message" that clearly pushed a Democratic line.
But Los Angeles marketing and advertising consultant Bruce Silverman, who served as creative director at three of the nation's largest ad agencies and produced Merrill Lynch's memorable "We're bullish on America" ad, challenged that notion.
The Eastwood spot and the "Morning in America" ad by Riney, who was Silverman's colleague at the Ogilvy & Mather ad agency, have clear parallels because Riney produced "one of those ads people remember for a lifetime ... because they touch the spirit," Silverman said.
"That ad represented a yearning," Silverman said. "America was down, it wasn't feeling good about itself. But America, by nature, is an optimistic country. We come through tough times, and Riney and his team really tapped into it."
Republican misstep
Ruth Sherman, who heads a media training firm in Connecticut, said Republicans may have made a misstep by jumping on a spot with an "America is back" message.
"Everyone wants to be on the side of Clint Eastwood," said Sherman. "In fact, the car business is back; the auto industry has rebounded ... and for the time being, things are looking up in Detroit.
"So I do think Axelrod co-opting it was the right move, a very good pivot," she said. And Rove "made a mistake by not seizing on it himself and saying, 'This is exactly what we're saying.' "
Goodby said it's too early to tell how well the ad will sell cars or promote the idea that "it's halftime in America." But an ad that stands the test of time, he said, is "something that captures what people are thinking and caring about in a deep way, at a certain point in time."
While the goal of "It's Halftime in America" may have been to sell Chryslers, Goodby said, it may now be judged by something else.
"Let's see if it elects a president - or not," he said.
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When Cars Meet Politics, the Clock Is Running
. . . Later that day, “Halftime in America” was seen by an estimated 111 million viewers. Chrysler had seemingly done the impossible: to surpass its acclaimed 2011 Super Bowl commercial, which starred the hip-hop artist Eminem and introduced the memorable tag line “Imported From Detroit.” Coincidentally, the Clint Eastwood spot was broadcast just two days after a report that the unemployment rate fell by two-tenths of a percentage point, to 8.3 percent, buttressing Chrysler’s message that the American economy can bounce back.
Not everyone reacted like the Chrysler dealers. The combination of the strong jobs report and comparisons between the inspirational commercial and Ronald Reagan’s stirring 1984 “Morning in America” campaign seems to have touched some raw nerves. “I was frankly offended by it,” Karl Rove told Fox News on Monday. He then lambasted the rescue of Chrysler and General Motors and insinuated that the ad demonstrated that Chrysler executives “feel they need to do something to repay their political patrons.”
But the $80 billion lent to the two companies came from the administrations of both President George W. Bush and President Obama. And as it happened, Mr. Bush, whom Mr. Rove served in the White House, was addressing the auto dealers in Las Vegas the same day that Mr. Rove took to the airwaves. “I’d do it again,” the former president said of his decision to bail out the auto industry. “I didn’t want there to be 21 percent unemployment.”
Chrysler executives were incensed by Mr. Rove’s remarks. “The former spokesperson was attacking not only a short video, but the essence of the bailout of Chrysler and G.M. while his former boss, the former president, was saying exactly the opposite,” a Chrysler spokesman, Gualberto Ranieri, pointed out to me.
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/02/11/business/how-clint-eastwoods-chrysler-ad-stirred-politics-common-sense.html?_r=1&hp#
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The lines are so blurry these days. Are the parties still true to their ideology? ;D