Curmudgeon neatly steals Romney's show

Clint Eastwood stole the show at the recent Republican Convention in Tampa, Florida.

I've been a fan of Eastwood's since he acted in Sergio Leone's spaghetti westerns. Because I first saw those films in Germany, where dubbing into German was the practice, I didn't hear his rasping voice until later. It was the focus on his narrowed eyes and clenched jaw that impressed me. All of that was certainly on display when Eastwood turned up as the surprise speaker at the Republican Convention to pave the way for Mitt Romney's acceptance speech.

I'm fairly sure Romney's team of handlers were too awe-struck by his star power to perform the usual vetting of Eastwood's speech. By every standard they, as much as the audience, were in for a real surprise.

For five minutes of his allotted 12, Eastwood held a rambling conversation with an imaginary President Obama, whom he addressed as an empty chair. There were several Republican talking points, "23 million unemployed" and "when somebody does not do the job, we got to let them go" - red meat to the delighted delegates who pleaded to get him to start "Go ahead ..." which the crowd finished with "Make my day" to his final wave.

But in between there were long pauses and interjections of comments he attributed to the President and interpreted such as "What's that, Mr President? No, Mitt can't do that to himself." and similar anatomically impossible suggestions. Those implausible crude suggestions, attributed to the over-articulate, careful Obama, made the entire performance suspect of parody. Eastwood gave an Oscar-winning performance. His was not the warm-up act expected. He stole the show. And he did it by recreating a role he has lately perfected in his movies. Republicans wanted Dirty Harry. Instead they got the angry, crusty curmudgeon we've seen in Million Dollar Baby and Gran Torino. By putting the Republican mantras and an over-the-top caricature of the President in that character's mouth, he transformed an introduction into a parody rant.

Eastwood's 12-minute show not only upset the tight-scripted schedule of Romney and his handlers, but its impact can be assessed from post-convention pundit reaction and that of ordinary folk. The latter is best reflected in this: The YouTube video of Eastwood's speech has been viewed 2,045,000 times, Romney's 165,000. Critics on both the left and right tried to make light of the speech, especially on the right. Many spoke of the rambling nature, adding Eastwood looked dishevelled and emphasised his age - 82. A few sought to minimise the performance by calling him senile.

If Eastwood is senile, he's certainly got it together enough to shoot .357 magnum-size holes through a convention that was supposed to peak with a Romney speech that would demonstrate his humanity and capacity to lead. Instead, the attention went to an old man's rambling.

Eastwood has solid Republican credentials. He served two terms as mayor of Carmel, California. But you have only to see his later films with their themes of euthanasia or tolerance toward immigrants to know he's not one with the current race-baiting, anti-immigrant, anti-abortion crowd. Moreover, he just finished directing a new movie. That effort requires skills beyond just reading lines.

It requires tight organisation and competent mental gymnastics. He's also been acting for more than 50 years. Yes, his hair was mussed. But he wore a neat, striped blue tie and a tailored suit that fitted him like a glove.

Come to think of it, in Every Which Way But Loose, his character has a pet orangutan. I think he just made monkeys out of the Republicans and Romney.