convention reaction to Eastwood is the sequel to convention delegates wearing purple heart bandaids [View all]

[karynnj]

After seeing video of Eastwood's ridiculous disrespectful nonsense. That this was the lead in to Romney's speech - shown in network time makes it worse. Two observations - that I haven't heard mentioned are:

1) Many of the delegates that cheered and laughed at this convention were probably the same people who wore bandaids mocking John Kerry's wounds that he got when he risked his privileged, promising life as a 25 year old. If not the same peopel, they were their spiritual descendants. In both cases, they went far beyond any reasonable bounds in stating their lack of respect for - in this case - the sitting President of the US. Now, many might say that this was because Obama is exotic, black and/or unAmerican. Yet 2004 shows that they treated the 10th generation direct descendant of the first governor of MA, Winthrope, who Reagan famously quoted on the shinning city on a hill. Remember that Kerry, with that impeccable history and a decorated war hero was treated as foreign and unpatriotic.

What the reaction shows is that among the people there - including the entire Republican power structure, this is somehow ok. Yet, they are claiming THEY will be bipartisan. How exactly does that work?

2) There has been NO statement from Romney or anyone else condemning the substance of this. The ONLY negative comments have been with regards to the lost opportunity to show a video of Romney. (Ann Romney mentioned this.) Note also that - as in 2004 - there are NO media calls for Romney to disavow this. Yet remember in 2004, John Kerry was pushed to reject Whoopi Goldberg's inappropriate crude, not funny joke at a fundraiser made before Kerry was there. Here, you had both Romney's listening to this without saying it was inappropriate.