Make My Chair Day: How to Eastwood in 5 Easy Steps

Clint Eastwood has been the talk of the nation for a couple of days now, but for all the wrong reasons. Eastwood, an intelligent and highly respected actor and director, made an ill-advised and unrehearsed appearance at the GOP convention. In the tradition of “planking” and “Faith Hilling,” a new internet meme, “Eastwooding” is going viral.

In what Jon Stewart called “The Old Man and the Seat,” Eastwood “spent 12 minutes on the most important night of Mitt Romney’s life … yelling at a chair.” Convention coordinators were not prepared for what the 82-year-old star would do or say. They probably should have made sure he was on track ahead of time.

Now, thanks to two Salt Lake City Tribune reporters, apparently bored and baffled at the Tampa convention center after the festivities closed, and Ana Marie Cox who promoted the idea immediately, #eastwooding is the latest mindless way to chuckle at yourself and others, and do what Americans love best: Taking pictures of themselves.

How does one Eastwood?

Step 1: Find a chair (or something like it).

Step  2: Imagine the president sitting in it.

Step 3: Point your camera at the chair.

Step 4: Point your finger at the chair.

Step 5: Click and post … feel the reward of just having wasted 10 seconds of your life!

You don’t have to take a picture, you can just mumble to the chair about Guantanamo. Or your boss, anything, really. Or have a friend take the picture … the Eastwooding possibilities are endless!

I would feel bad about teasing an old man (see the picture of my toilet, I caught the president in a private moment) but the idea of sitting the president down in front of an audience to chide him is disrespectful. And it really wasn’t funny at all. If it was, I could forgive him.

The last-minute decision to ask for a chair from a prop person, and the stammering incoherence of the speech reflect that Eastwood’s stunt was truly improvised. Perhaps the Oscar-winner should stick to a script from now on.

We love Clint Eastwood, and wish him well. The Super Bowl “It’s Halftime in America” was kick-ass and showed his patriotism. Remember the flack he caught from right-wing media for that?

But this speech was his worst idea since he sang that song over the end credits of Gran Torino. I got the exact same uncomfortable feeling on both occasions.

On the bright side, Stephen Colbert had Eastwood’s chair on his show on Friday. In an inspiring speech, the chair put away it’s potty mouth that it apparently used in Tampa, and laid out a new vision for America.

Thanks Mr. Eastwood! I think we found our next candidate:

The Colbert Report Mon - Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30c : The GOP Convention's Mystery Speaker - Clint Eastwood's Chair www.colbertnation.com

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