Sunday, September 2, 2012

Twitter Digest No. 4: The Chair




Twitter Digest: An occasional compilation featuring sweet Tweets (this being the 4th edition).



Today's theme: The Chair







I was glued to the TV during the RNC, not only because:

          (a) I am a fiercely Independent political junkie, determined to keep an open mind for as long as possible; but also

          (b) I am a fan of Clinton. And by Clinton, I mean Clinton "Clint" Eastwood, Jr. I heard Clint was the "mystery speaker" and I knew I had to hear what he had to say.


I was expecting 5 minutes from the gravelly-voiced star of Gran Torino telling us that his "Halftime In America" ad for Chrysler, which aired during halftime of the Superbowl, had been unfairly co-opted by the Dems. I was listening for a Republican update to the ad, or at least an endorsement of the Romney / Ryan ticket.

I imagine no one was more surprised than the RNC with what Clint actually said.

The news coverage of Mr Eastwood's remarks has ranged from tolerant to unkind. I myself characterized his rambling stand-up skit as a "stunt" in a text to a friend.  As stand-up goes, it was not bad for an old fart. His best line was when he asserted that We the People own this country and politicians work for us. He ran the  risk of angering the Nominee by sharing opinions at odds with the party. He did himself no favors when he was he crude and disrespectful to the President and Vice President of our country, which was completely uncalled for given the audience and setting.

I was impressed by the the analysis that has emerged in print media over the past two or three days and even withing 24 hours on "Mockumentaries" such as Jon Stewart's Daily Show. What really impresses me though is the nearly immediate Twitter response to the event. Within hours of Eastwood's schtick with the empty chair, Twitter was blazing with satirical feedback using telling hashtags (#) such as these:


  • #chair
  • #obamachair
  • #emptychair
and my favorite
  • #eastwooding


That brings us to today's Twitter Digest: a compilation of tweets about The Chair.


Tiny Klout Flag51Ora 2012 ‏@OraPolitics
Missed 's  speech - we've got you covered:  

Tiny Klout Flag74HuffPost Politics ‏@HuffPostPol
RT : Remember how the Romney campaign said there'd be a surprise speaker tonight? Surprise!   

Tiny Klout Flag55Riley ‏@copyright1974
Damn you, ! *shakes fist* RT : The greatest moments of Obama Chair's presidency.


Tiny Klout Flag61terrapin_sf ‏@terrapin_sf

Tiny Klout Flag60Sean Walsh ‏@seanbwalsh
I got a little too caught up in the excitement last night.  

Tiny Klout Flag69Ryan McGee ‏@TVMcGee
 is why I love Twitter.



Admittedly, this is not exactly the type of attention that the RNC had in mind.  Regardless of your opinion of Mr Eastwood's remarks, we know there is a problem when Mitt Romney is upstaged by an empty chair.



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