Eastwood sheds light at the RNC on a president lacking leadership

Last week’s Republican National Convention was marked by a diverse array of speakers, many of whom have broken glass ceilings. The speakers included the first Indian-American Governor Bobby Jindal, the first female Indian-American Governor Nikki Haley, the first African-American Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice and the first Latina Governor Susana Martinez, as well as diverse rising stars like Governor Brian Sandoval, Senator Marco Rubio and congressional candidate Mia Love. Last week’s lineup was a reflection of the cultural mosaic that is America. It is a remarkable fact that for the first time, there are no WASPs (white Anglo-Saxon Protestants) on either major party ticket.

But for all of the diversity of the speakers, their speeches carried the same themes: America is in decline, and we need Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan to save it from Obama’s incompetence, thereby ushering in a new era of prosperity. Essentially, this is the same thing every party out of power always says concerning the incumbent. Ironically, it was the old, white guy that was the breath of fresh air that everyone’s talking about (no, not Ron Paul–he wasn’t given a speaking slot).

 Clint Eastwood, the personification of everything that is good and decent about this country, strode out and gave the most convincing argument of this election–a mix of humor and gravity—off the cuff. It didn’t go over well, however, with politicos or anyone else out of tune with the current feelings of the American voter. Eastwood gave his pitch not for Romney, but for anyone other than Obama. Saying “possibly now it’s maybe time for someone else to come along and solve the problem” wasn’t exactly an unqualified endorsement.

The foreign policy parts of his speech undoubtedly made hawkish Republicans wince, considering that Obama’s kill list, drone strikes and continued occupation of Afghanistan are probably his most endearing qualities to them. But the best part of the speech came when he stripped down the whole political system for what it is: selfish politicians wanting to stay in office.

“They’re just going to come around begging for votes,” said Eastwood. Politicians are begging for votes, reaffirming to people of all political views that their party is the best and that we deserve a better president than the one we have. Essentially they are saying that we should not vote for someone we really do not agree with. This honesty is the only thing that might reach disaffected voters who have been burned time and time again by politicians who say one thing and do another, who pledge to “stop the rise of the oceans” but use Air Force One to campaign for re-election.

Most of us Libertarians would prefer the empty chair to either politician.

Opinions expressed in this column are solely the beliefs of the writer. 

Joey Taylor is a member of the College Republicans at Mason.

Would you like to have your opinion considered for publication? If so, send an email to exec.editor@connect2mason.com with the subject line "opinion writer position."