Romney’s Home Stretch Pitch Aims For The Gullible And Ignorant

With less than a week until election day, the campaign of Republican contender Mitt Romney is pulling out all the stops to appeal to a voter demographic that is often neglected: the irredeemably stupid.

Romney - Slower Voters

What else could explain Romney’s late surge of blatantly false rhetoric? As he stumps around the nation, Romney is now repeatedly blathering about Chrysler moving Jeep production to China. That charge has been ruled a “Pants-on-Fire” lie by PolitiFact. It was given “four Pinocchios” by the Washington Post. It was forcefully refuted by Chrysler who called Romney’s assertions “unnecessary fantasies.”

These are not mere disagreements on subjective political statements. These are the lowest ratings possible for falsehoods. Perhaps we should not be surprised by a candidate who has previously declared that they would not let their campaign be “dictated by fact-checkers.” Romney has lived up to that promise. Currently 41% of his statements reviewed by PolitiFact are rated as false, and 19 of those are “Pants-on-Fire” lies. That’s a record, and a dubious achievement for a public figure.

The only conclusion is that Romney has abandoned all pretense of being an honorable public servant. He has decided that his only path to the White House is to corral as many idiots who are susceptible to this sort of hogwash as possible. It is a open play for the most ill-informed, deliberately ignorant yokels in America. Who else would vote for a man who has demonstrated that he has no core principles and admittedly “Etch-a-Sketches” his positions as required to pander to his audience.

Romney has taken diametrically opposing stances on key agendas including the auto bailout, abortion, gay rights, the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, Climate Change, and even his own hallmark health care plan. It was that tendency for being so ethically-challenged that made Romney a hated figure in his own Republican Party during most of the primary season. Now much of the party has sucked up their disgust and have settled for a man they despise, but only because they despise Obama even more.

So in these final days of the campaign, the remaining undecided morons are struggling to choose between an historically accomplished president (who says he can’t run on his record?), and a failed governor whose home state abhors him. The choice is between a man who has rescued the economy from disaster, reduced unemployment from 10.1% to 7.8%, advanced civil rights for women, gays and minorities, brought the Iraq war to an end, saved the auto industry from collapse, and advanced a progressive agenda for financial reform, energy production, and job creation, or an unrepentant liar who regards half the nation as moochers, represents only big corporations and the wealthy, has no understanding of foreign policy, and wants to privatize Social Security, Medicare, and even FEMA.

Seriously, you would have to be pretty stupid to vote for Mitt Romney. To do so with full knowledge of what he represents is basically an admission that you have given up on intelligence, reason, and rational thought. If that is insulting to those of you who still intend to vote for Romney, there is recourse. Don’t vote for him. It is not too late to restart your brain. Remember why you opposed him so vehemently in the primary and refuse to sacrifice your integrity for a man who has not exhibited any of his own.

For the rest of you, those who grasp the importance of an election that will result in the implementation of America’s first health care plan, the appointment of a couple of Supreme Court justices, and shape the direction of civil liberties and economic fairness and equality, make voting your priority. Nothing you do in the next week will have a greater impact on your life for the next decade. Vote early, if available in your state, but just be sure to vote – and take a couple of people along with you.

One Vote

Fox News: A Fundamental Threat To American Democracy And The Enemies Of The American People

On Tuesday’s edition of the Judge Jeanine Pirro show on Fox News, Pirro hosted a discussion with celebrated media analysts Ann Coulter and Pat Caddell. The segment was predictably filled with partisan histrionics and wild-eyed hyperbole aimed at what they perceive to be the “liberal” media.

Fox News

Setting aside the hysterical irony of Fox News pretending to make a neutral assessment of the bias of any other media, the Coulter/Caddell team managed to outdo themselves and the network for which they so ably shill. Caddell, in particular, articulated an emotionally unhinged rant about how fatally biased the media has been in favor of President Obama. Caddell stammered and came close to slobbering as he vented his extreme disgust for the press. And then, in a fit that seemed more like a seizure, he spilled the unvarnished truth that had been swelling his pea-brain to unnatural dimensions:

“The leading mainstream media…they have become a fundamental threat to American democracy and the enemies of the American people.”

Good Lord! That’s a striking revelation coming from a devoted Fox News flunkie. And the only logical assumption is that he is talking about Fox News itself. Since we know that the “leading mainstream media,” based on viewership and circulation, is Fox News and its corporate parent entities (i.e. the Wall Street Journal), Caddell is indicting his employer as an enemy of the American people. And not a minute too soon.

Anyone tuning in to Fox News can see an unending stream of bile spewed at President Obama and Democrats/liberals in general. They seek to blame Obama for a wide array of invented scandals. They hype survey data by disreputable pollsters who always seem to find Obama trailing. They interview a familiar cast of Obama-haters who never disappoint in lavishing insults on their perceived ideological adversaries on the left. And many of those guests are actively employed by right-wing organizations and candidates, but Fox never discloses those affiliations.

I couldn’t agree more with Caddell that such blatant dishonesty and misrepresentation is the work of America’s enemies. I just didn’t expect it to come from a Fox News wingnut who is paid to serve that enemy. The proof of their dastardly misdeeds is seen in surveys that show that Fox viewers are significantly more ill-informed than viewers of other media, or even people who watch no news at all.

What’s really funny, though, is how upset Fox gets when other media fail to jump on their bandwagon of lies. For some reason Fox can’t comprehend that legitimate reporters don’t want to tarnish their reputations by disseminating the same kind of falsehoods that are the hallmark of Fox News.

In The Fox Nation, Hurricane Sandy Is All About Anti-Obama Politics

In the hours preceding the landfall of Hurricane Sandy, Fox Nation posts as their “Pic of the Day” something they clearly regard as humorous. Their sense of humor, however, is perverse, to say the least.

Fox Nation - Perfect StormThe picture shows somebody’s home about to be flooded. Fox apparently doesn’t care about the welfare of the residents of the imperiled home, their physical safety, or the financial calamity they will suffer. What Fox is focused on is how hilarious they think it is that the family, whose lives are about to be turned upside down, are Democrats who support President Obama.

Hysterical, isn’t it? What could be funnier than thousands of Americans being evacuated from their homes and facing uncertainty as to what they will return to? Add to that comedy gold of millions more who are anticipating severe hardships due to flooding and power outages. First responders must be laughing their asses off as the threat to human life escalates.

What makes this sorry attempt at “photo-journalism” even more pathetic is that the Fox Nationalists have completely mangled the message conveyed by the picture. Rather than symbolizing a sunken Obama campaign, it is more representative of a campaign whose indomitable spirit is unsinkable. The sign has not been crushed by the elements or submerged. It is standing above the waterline, spread out and readable. It is more reflective of the star-spangled banner that gave “proof through the night that our flag was still there.”

Nevertheless, Fox chose to malign this inspiring vision and simultaneously trivialize the suffering that presently awaits this household and millions of others. Nice work, Fox.

Bonus Fox Nation Politicization:
Just to affirm that the above politicking at the expense of disaster-stricken Americans is not an isolated event by the Fox Nationalists, here is a sampling of their other postings today:

Fox Nation - Sandy Politics

While all of these are the result of ignorance and dishonesty, a couple deserve extra attention. First, the charge that the “Obama Sequester Proposal Slashes Funds For FEMA, Disaster Relief,” is a deliberate misreading of the law. What the administration did was simply to comply with legislation that calls for the White House to enumerate what cuts would take place. The law explicitly prohibits the administration from deciding what the cuts would be, so the responsibility was entirely with Congress to determine the amounts.

Secondly, the “outrage” expressed by Fox over the possibility of the jobs report being delayed is absurd in the extreme. Such a delay should be considered plausible under the circumstances, but even so, the Labor Department issued a statement that they expect the report to be issued on Friday as usual. What makes this ridiculous is that Fox and their conservative comrades all thought that the last jobs report was falsified by an Obama-friendly Labor Department. So why would they conspire to delay the report now if, according the right-wing nut jobs, they were going to fake it anyway? Wouldn’t they want their phony report showing another drop in the unemployment rate to get out before the election? Fox obviously can’t keep their conspiracy theories straight.

Mitt Romney: Putting This Country Back On The Path To A Zombie Apocalypse

Zomney

Joss Whedon’s must-see video explains exactly why American needs Mitt Romney. It’s because Romney is “ready to make the deep rollbacks in health care, education, social services, reproductive rights, that will guarantee poverty, unemployment, over-population, disease, rioting, all crucial elements in creating a nightmare Zombie Wasteland.”

They’re out there. And they need brains.

Obama SAVED Lives In Benghazi: An Alternative To The Bogus Fox News Narrative

What happened in Benghazi, Libya, was unarguably tragic. There is no excuse for the sort of violence that took place at an embassy outpost whose purpose is to promote peace and encourage international harmony. Those who lost their lives were sacrificed for a pointless expression of hostility that benefits no one.

Sadly, the tragedy has been compounded by conservative blowhards, led by Fox News, who can’t seem to resist their compulsion to politicize anything they think will tarnish the reputation of President Obama. Even though survivors of those killed have begged politicians and the media to refrain from such politicization…

Ambassador Chris Stevens’ father: “It would really be abhorrent to make this into a campaign issue.”
Navy SEAL Glen Doherty’s mother: “[Romney] shouldn’t make my son’s death part of his political agenda.”

…Fox News ignores them and persists with their flagrant exploitation. They have turned their network into a 24 hour Benghazi scandal sheet that trumpets rumors as fact and brazenly disrespects the victims and those endeavoring to find the truth. Their goal is to construct a scandal from scratch where none exists. Then they get pissy when the rest of the media demonstrates that they aren’t stupid enough to buy into Fox’s falsehoods.

The effort to create a false narrative around these events is well coordinated. Pundits and politicians have taken to referring to the affair as Benghazi-Gate, despite the fact that there is no remote connection between it and the corruption of Watergate. But even we look at just the allegations presented by Fox, many of which are pure conjecture without evidence, it is possible to build a scenario that is starkly different than the one Fox News is peddling.

The outrage at Fox centers around the allegation that the Obama administration knew of the imminent danger at the Benghazi compound and explicitly denied help, even after it was requested. That, Fox says, was an irresponsible abdication of duty and sealed the fate of the victims. But even accepting the premise, which is a stretch, it is just as likely that the Obama team did exactly the right thing and saved lives as a result. Here’s the alternative scenario:

There were hundreds, if not thousands, of protesters in Benghazi who were advancing on the compound. At least some of the protesters were armed with military style weapons (mortars, grenades, etc.). Those inside were protected by a small security contingent. Remember, embassy facilities are not army posts. They were never meant to be fortresses with soldiers in abundance and stockpiles of munitions. Their mission is to encourage diplomatic engagement with the local residents and assist traveling Americans.

When news of the attack got back to State Department security personnel there were likely to have been calls for assistance. But the active monitoring of the assault may have revealed that it was too dangerous to send others into the fray. They would have been outnumbered and overcome. There were reports that drones were flying over the scene and would have been able to relay this information with video demonstrating the foolishness of ordering more Americans into a chaotic situation that would likely have resulted in more fatalities.

This may be when two members of the security team, Tyrone Woods and Glen Doherty, sought permission to leave the CIA safe house and attempt to help those at the embassy compound. When superiors, who were better informed of the nature of the risk, told them to stand down, they chose to disobey orders and go anyway. At the compound they were met with gunfire and worse. They were unable to save Ambassador Stevens, so they returned, under fire, to the CIA annex. In effect, they led the terrorists back to the CIA safe house that was previously secret. That endangered the lives of those at that location and it is where Woods and Doherty themselves were killed.

In this scenario it is clear that the correct decision was to stand down and wait until a sufficient force was deployable to fulfill their mission. The officers, and possibly administration officials in Washington, were right in their assessment and very likely saved lives. The outcome could have been much worse if troops were sent on what might have been a suicide mission without proper support and reinforcements. And while the intentions of Woods and Doherty may have been admirable and heroic, their disobedience may have cost them their own lives and the lives of others. There is a reason that officers, with a view of the bigger picture, are the ones who make command decisions. Secretary of Defense, Leon Panetta, summed it up saying that…

“There’s a lot of Monday morning quarterbacking going on here. But the basic principle here … is that you don’t deploy forces into harm’s way without knowing what’s going on.”

The not “knowing what’s going on” is key to this situation. Decisions had to be made instantaneously with a severe lack of hard data. Given what was known at the time, had the Air Force swooped in to randomly drop bombs on the scene they might have just killed dozens of rowdy protesters. It wasn’t until much later that any reports surfaced of physical assaults or fatalities. Indiscriminate bombing without solid intelligence that it was warranted could have irreparably damaged relations with the new Libyan nation and destroyed the goodwill of the people who were grateful for our help in toppling the dictator Gaddhafi. Proof of that goodwill came in subsequent days when tens of thousands of Libyans took to the streets to express their regrets for the loss of the American lives.

Much of the above scenario is conjecture, but no more so than what Fox News is broadcasting as fact. At least I acknowledge that the investigations into what occurred are ongoing and we don’t have all the facts yet. Fox pretends to know what happened based on speculation, and unreliable sources. What’s more, they weight their reporting in favor of their preconceived notions. They interview relatives of victims who are angry with the President, but have never invited the relatives quoted above to come on and give their opinions. That is repulsively disrespectful to the people who are actually suffering through this on a personal level.

Fox News doesn’t give a shit about the people who died in Benghazi. All Fox cares about is bashing Obama, and they will use and abuse anyone to that end – even dead American heroes. The narrative that they are pushing is wholly unsupported by reality. The narrative I’ve proposed here makes far more sense. If people are interested in jumping to conclusions, I believe they have a much better chance of being right if they adopt this scenario wherein the Obama administration saved lives by responding to an unfolding crisis in a responsible manner. And I challenge any of the liars at Fox to present a coherent argument that their bullshit is any more probable than my logical explanation.

Fox Nation’s Phony Outrage: Somebody Think Of The Kids!

Exploiting children for partisan political purposes is something with which Fox News is well acquainted. They frequently try to corral kids into political controversies for the benefit of a conservative agenda. Sometimes that doesn’t work out so well for them. But they soldier on with overtly biased reporting that exhibits a rampant hypocrisy. Here is the story they have been flogging this weekend:

Fox Nation - Children Singing

What the Fox Nationalists find so outrageous is that a group of patriotic kids who are concerned about their country would dare to express themselves in a manner that indicts the right-wing extremism that imperils their future. The video was produced by The Future Children Project, and it is an admirable display of the sort of civic participation that should be encouraged in our society. Take a look at the video:

What a travesty! Young people with knowledge, awareness and an opinion. The conservative martinets of virtue think this must be stopped. Along with Fox, Noel Sheppard of the uber-rightist NewsBusters, posted a comically hyperbolic critique of this video, comparing it to the famous “Daisy Ad” produced by President Lyndon Johnson’s campaign nearly fifty years ago. That ad connected the election of Barry Goldwater with a visual of a nuclear bomb exploding. See…the two videos are exactly the same. Sheppard went completely off the deep end in his analysis saying…

“The advertising agency Goodby, Silverstein & Partners has just released a pro-Obama commercial eerily reminscent of Lyndon Johnson’s controversial Daisy ad featuring children singing about a variety of horrors including an America – supposedly under President Romney – where ‘sick people just die’ and ‘oil fills the sea.’

“But more importantly, it’s one thing to write such disgusting lyrics. It’s quite another to get children to sing them. If the folks at this agency possess such a thing, they should be ashamed of themselves for involving youngsters in this project. Or do they believe like Goebbels did that it’s okay to involve children in spreading propaganda?”

So according to Sheppard, this video of children singing is not only analogous to a nuclear holocaust, but also to Hitler’s Nazi Minister of Propaganda. Coming from someone who works for NewsBusters, that’s pretty darned ironic.

To top it off, no one at Fox is cognizant of their hypocrisy in that they had no problem with kids singing an anti-Obama song. When a group of kids decided to protest Michelle Obama’s school lunch program that advocated for healthier food and providing for underprivileged students, they produced a Glee-like video complaining that the new standards left them unsatisfied.

Fox Nation - We Are Hungry

While I don’t agree with the content, the production is really quite good and I commend the students for their involvement. The video expresses the feelings of these kids, and that’s a good thing. The problem is that the hypocrites at Fox News, NewsBusters and elsewhere in the conservative world are so myopic that they only see value in children when they can be exploited to advance right-wing themes. Kids who have a different opinion are “outrageous” little Hitlers and should shut the hell up. That’s the pattern of thought that produces a robotic, incurious, ignorant society. And it’s also a pretty good description of the Fox News audience.

Vile Fox News Audience Wishes That Senate Leader Had Died In Car Accident

Sick, disgusting, lowlife, right-wing scum. That’s the only fitting description for the miscreants who congregate on the Fox News community web site, Fox Nation. As I have previously documented, these hostile heathens have a bloodlust for their political adversaries that is perverted and antithetical to free democracies. They have fantasized about assassinating President Obama (and that’s not the only time). They have dreamed of seeing Nancy Pelosi get her skull bashed in. They celebrated Arlen Specter’s death. And now they cheer about Harry Reid being hurt in a car accident and lament that he survived.

Fox Nation - Harry Reid

These cretins would turn the stomachs of decent Americans. Yet Fox News grants them a platform to spew their violent yearnings. And this isn’t an isolated incident as the links above demonstrate. This is the common behavior on Fox Nation and it is tolerated, even encouraged, by others in the community as well as by Fox News.

This is the nature of the modern conservative. Divisive, vulgar, and overtly hostile. And it is a nature that Fox News promotes on their web sites and on their air. Can anyone forget the classic assassination fantasy by Fox’s Liz Trotta (who is still on the air)?

No one should be surprised that this kind of garbage is disseminated by Fox News. It is an enterprise that perfectly reflects the values (or lack thereof) of Rupert Murdoch, a man whose newspapers were caught hacking into the phone of a murdered schoolgirl. Any business that would do that would not be above encouraging the sort of sickness illustrated here. What’s surprising is that anyone would consider what Fox does to be news.

Why Is Fox News Attacking Ben Gazzara?

In the past few weeks Fox News has been on an all-consuming rant that defies logic and insults the intelligence of the American people. On an almost 24/7 basis, Fox has broadcast hundreds of false and disparaging reports with little substance and zero evidence. And all of this to vilify a respected man who has given much to his country.

Ben Gazzara was an actor best known for the 1960’s TV series “Run for Your Life.” He was also acclaimed in films such as “Husbands,” “Saint Jack,” and “They All Laughed.” He made 38 movies and worked with many of Hollywood’s biggest stars and directors. He was honored by prestigious nominations for Emmys and Golden Globes. He originated the role of Brick Pollitt in the Broadway production of “Cat On A Hot Tin Roof.” Gazzara passed away earlier this year of pancreatic cancer.

This makes it all the more curious why Fox News would embark on shrill campaign to stain the memory of this beloved American icon. They have featured hundreds of stories alleging malfeasance, deceit, and even treason. The reports were all aired amidst a backdrop of riots, terrorism, and flaming ruins. Somehow Fox even managed to persuade public figures (politicians, pundits, retired military, etc.) to appear and contribute to the smear campaign.

What could possible have driven Fox to attack this fine man so mercilessly/ It is disgraceful and unwarranted and…..


UPDATE: Apparently there has been a small misunderstanding. It seems that Fox News has been reporting on the Libyan town of Benghazi, not actor Ben Gazzara. So…..Never mind.


Actually, there are still some relevant insights in the commentary above. In fact, the entire first paragraph of this article applies perfectly to Fox’s irresponsible reporting on Benghazi. Let’s read it again:

In the past few weeks Fox News has been on an all-consuming rant that defies logic and insults the intelligence of the American people. On an almost 24/7 basis, Fox has broadcast hundreds of false and disparaging reports with little substance and zero evidence. And all of this to vilify a respected man who has given much to his country.

Alone in the media, Fox is trying to elevate a tragic, isolated event into a scandal of gargantuan proportions. They have devoted an inordinate amount of airtime to a story that lacks sufficient facts to draw a conclusion. And then Fox gets pissy because other media isn’t foolish enough to run the same phony story. What’s worse, Fox has shamelessly politicized the tragedy in order to damage President Obama in the midst of the closing days of a heated campaign. The families of the victims have spoken out explicitly requesting that their sorrows not be exploited for political gain:

Ambassador Chris Stevens’ father: “It would really be abhorrent to make this into a campaign issue.”
Navy SEAL Glen Doherty’s mother: “He shouldn’t make my son’s death part of his political agenda.”

Nevertheless, Fox News has jumped on every particle of news no matter how diaphanous. They sensationalize the most specious reports as if they were confirmed as fact. As an example, they trumpeted the release of State Department cables that referenced claims that Al Qaeda had taken responsibility for the Benghazi attacks. However, those cables were never meant to confirm such claims. They were merely reporting an uncorroborated Facebook posting that was later refuted by other agents of Al Qaeda. But for Fox, any nutty assertion on the Internet is golden and true, so long as it reflects badly on President Obama.

Another example is a report by Ed Klein, a thoroughly discredited Obama-hater who writes for the birther web site WorldNetDaily. Fox Nation featured the story this morning. Klein asserts that Hillary Clinton asked Obama for more security, and Obama said no.

Fox Nation

There is not a single nugget of truth anywhere in the story. Klein claims that his source is a legal counsel to Sec. Clinton. Think about that claim. Klein expects us to believe that a representative of Clinton would give sensitive information to a known Obama adversary. Even more unbelievable, it is a legal representative who has ethical obligations not to disclose private information. So this source, according to Klein, has jeopardized not only his allegiance to his boss, but his future in the practice of law. It’s fair to say that this source, in all likelihood, does not exist.

Klein is notorious for making wildly absurd claims without any substantiation. His sources are never revealed or corroborated. Consequently, his writings are nothing more than fables by an overtly partisan, proven liar.

Unfortunately, we will probably have to endure continued false reporting from Fox as they brazenly exploit dead Americans in their effort to help push Romney into the White House. But I would bet that after the election, Fox will suddenly fail to find anything newsworthy about Benghazi – or Fast and Furious, or Solyndra, or any of the other fabricated controversies they have been slinging. The veracity of their reporting on Benghazi is just as blatantly untrue as if it were about Ben Gazzara (R.I.P).

Update: The brilliant Stephen Colbert has perfectly framed the absurdity of how Fox is handling this non-story:

The GOP’s Faith-Based Obsession With Fox News And Other Lightweight Media

A new report by YouGov’s BrandIndex reveals something of the character of Republicans and their focus as consumers. The study ranks the favorite brands of Americans and segments them by political party.

The top ten brands for Democrats are familiar consumer names with little affiliation to politics:

  1. Google
  2. Amazon.com
  3. Cheerios
  4. Clorox
  5. Craftsman
  6. Dawn
  7. M&Ms
  8. Levis
  9. PBS
  10. Sony
Republicans, on the other hand, lead off their list with the most partisan brand name imaginable:

  1. Fox News
  2. History Channel
  3. Craftsman
  4. Chick-Fil-A
  5. Johnson & Johnson
  6. Lowe’s
  7. Cheerios
  8. Clorox
  9. FOX
  10. Discovery Channel

Pray for Fox NewsThe lists illustrate the core differences between how Democrats and Republicans face the society they live in. It is a testament to what is important to each of them. And clearly Republicans place a great deal of emphasis on the network that keeps them supplied with right-wing talking points and propaganda. (And it’s no coincidence that Chick-Fil-A popped up for the first time). It’s a major victory for the marketing gurus at Fox to have their network place first in such a survey, and it says a lot about the measure of devotion that Fox’s disciples have for a media ministry that is literally faith-based (as opposed to facts).

While the only media entity that appears on the Democrat’s list is PBS, the Republicans have a total of four, including the Fox Broadcast network and cable’s Discovery and History channels. Before anyone jumps to the conclusion that right-wingers are drawn to educational programming, it should be noted that the Discovery and History channels have not exactly lived up to their founding principles in the early days of cable when they were promoted as alternatives to PBS. Typical fare on these networks is “reality” hogwash like Pawn Stars, UFO Files, and American Pickers (on History), and American Chopper, Auction Kings, and Moonshiners (on Discovery).

The heavy weighting of media by Republicans is evidence of their reliance on a paternalistic press to shape their thinking and comfort them when breaking news doesn’t go their way. Fox News is a warming hearth that always gives them a pro-GOP spin to ease their electoral anxiety. It is a 24 hour intravenous shot of conservatism. Stephen Colbert, once again, demonstrated this in a brilliant segment last night that mocked Fox-style “journalism.”


Clint Eastwood’s Unpatriotic Ad For Mitt Romney

What is it about desperate politicians who are afraid they are losing that makes them resort to ugly and counterproductive rhetorical assaults? In 2008 we saw Sarah Palin accuse Barack Obama of “palling around with terrorists.” Now, in 2012, Mitt Romney’s surrogates have dispatched Clint Eastwood to up the ante.

Clint Eastwood

The ad featuring Eastwood (video below) was produced by Karl Rove’s American Crossroads Super PAC, which is funded by millionaires who are ashamed of disclosing their identities. Super PACs themselves are unpatriotic in that they are a perverted distortion of the democratic principle of “one person, one vote.” When millionaires are allowed to anonymously aggregate unlimited sums of money you have something more like “one dollar, one vote.”

Eastwood’s performance in this ad is a big improvement over the one he gave at the Republican convention. Of course, he had a script for this. The problem is that the script contained this bit of foolishness: “Obama’s second term would be a rerun of the first and our country just couldn’t survive that.”

Precisely how weak does Eastwood (and his handlers at American Crossroads) think this country is? Does he really believe that America will dissolve into dust if Obama is reelected? Does he think that our enemies will subdue and enslave us? What dreadful fate awaits in the second term of Obama’s presidency that would cause us not to survive? That sounds like the kind of fear mongering that is more often associated with Apocalyptic prophets or Glenn Beck’s fans. And it is a starkly different message than the one he delivered in his famous halftime ad for Chrysler when he spoke about the difficulties are nation had endured:

“But after those trials, we all rallied around what was right, and acted as one. Because that’s what we do. We find a way through tough times, and if we can’t find a way, then we’ll make one.”

Apparently Eastwood has lost that sense of optimism and now thinks that when we encounter tough times we will fold up like paper dolls and be swept away by a light breeze. Or maybe it just tells us something about the differences between a commercial trying to sell us a car and one trying to sell us a horror story about monsters from Kenya who hate freedom.

It is also curious why Eastwood thinks a rerun of Obama’s first term would be unsurvivable. Which part does he think would do us in? The part where Osama Bin Laden (and dozens of Al Qaeda leaders) was put to rest? The part where the war in Iraq was concluded? The part where the stock market doubled? The part where unemployment went from 10.1% to 7.8%? The part where a full-on depression was avoided and companies like Chrysler were rescued so they could hire actors like Eastwood to make commercials?

America survived a civil war, two world wars, a depression, presidential assassinations and corruption leading to resignation, and George W. Bush. If people like Eastwood and Rove and Romney are so pessimistic about America that they think it will not survive another four years of Obama, they have very little faith in the nation they profess to love and they should stop pretending they are patriots.