That Eastwood routine again

Like many, I referred to Clint Eastwood's skit at the Republican National Convention as "bizarre". In a tweet, I called it a "debacle". I still hold to those descriptions, but as comedy, it "killed", as Bill Maher put it.

Watching it again (see video above), Eastwood's routine really had its moments. The use of the chair was unconventional, but then again, pundits are all the time complaining that conventions are too scripted. Here you finally has something unscripted and unpredictable - and people were holding on his every word to see what would come next.

On the weekend Eastwood explained his objectives: “I had three points I wanted to make. That not everybody in Hollywood is on the left, that Obama has broken a lot of the promises he made when he took office, and that the people should feel free to get rid of any politician who’s not doing a good job." Those points came across.

When Obama was elected in 2008, it was considered bad taste to make jokes about him. As my spiked colleague Tim Black asked at the time, "So, when will it be OK to mock Obama?". Four years on, it's still not OK. There is still a taboo, especially among liberals. What was unusual and refreshing about Eastwood's speech is that he was poking fun of the president so directly. The view of Obama as a Dear Leader who cannot be mocked is very unhealthy, and, for that reason, Eastwood's puncturing of that taboo was welcome.

The problem, however, was the timing. By putting Eastwood on the stage just prior to Romney's big acceptance speech, in the primetime hour, Romney's handlers had set expectations for a more serious presentation. It placed too much weight on Eastwood's shoulders. The Democrats use their Hollywood celebs all the time, and it seemed like the Romney advisers were trying to leverage the celebrity factor too - but in an unskilful, heavy-handed way.

In the event, Eastwood's pitch was so unique - and Romney's speech so forgettable - that it upstaged the candidate. All of the water cooler talk was about Eastwood, not Romney. As they say, timing is everything in comedy.