Clint Eastwood Makes Romney’s Day at Republican National Convention
Clint Eastwood
Who says there are no Conservatives in Hollywood?
Clint Eastwood was a surprise guest for the final evening of the Republican National Convention in Tampa Thursday, speaking minutes before Mitt Romney accepted the party's nomination to run for president.
"I know what you're thinking," the Oscar winner greeted the crowd. "You know they're all left-wingers out there.
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"There's a lot of conservative people ... in Hollywood," Eastwood continued, citing Jon Voight's presence at the convention earlier this week. "They play a little more close to the vest. They don't go around hot-doggin' it. But they're there. Believe me, they're there."
Eastwood structured his remarks as a Q&A to President Barack Obama, addressing an empty chair beside him in the commander-in-chief's absence. Calling the unemployment rate "a national disgrace," Eastwood called for a regime change."This administration hasn't done enough to cure that," he said. "Whatever interest they have is not strong enough, and I think possibly now It might be time for somebody else to come along and solve the problem."
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Still, the filmmaker didn't completely shun his Hollywood roots in his remarks. At the end of his speech, he gamely obliged the crowd by teasing, "Go ahead ..." The audience responded, in unison: "Make my day!"
Eastwood was followed by Sen. Marco Rubio, who introduced Romney. After making his way to the stage amidst a lengthy standing ovation, Romney accepted the party's nomination and spoke at length around the evening's theme, "We Believe in America," interrupted by intermittent chants of "USA! USA!"
"I wish President Obama had succeeded, because I want America to succeed," Romney said. "But his promises gave way to disappointment and division. This isn't something we have to accept. Now is the moment we can do something."
The evening also featured performances from American Idol winner Taylor Hicks and gospel singer BeBe Winans.