Karl Rove Says Clint Eastwood's Chrysler Super Bowl Ad Is "Chicago-Style Politics"

Karl Rove, former senior adviser to President George W. Bush, says he was offended by Chrysler's "Halftime in America" Super Bowl ad starring Clint Eastwood, and he claims the ad is "Chicago-style politics."

Rove told Fox News, “The President of the United States' political minions are, in essence, using our tax dollars to buy corporate advertising and the best wishes of the management, which has benefited by getting a bunch of our money that they'll never pay back.” Rove also wrote on his Fox News blog:

Second, regarding "Halftime in America," it was great ad, full of sentiments most can agree on. And I'm a huge fan of Clint Eastwood, an American icon. But administration officials and Obama campaign leaders immediately took to Twitter to draw attention to the ad as support for their man.

Rove pointed to tweets from David Axelrod (who called it a "powerful spot") and Dan Pfeiffer as evidence of Obama's endorsement of the ad.

Watch the full Fox News Chicago report here:

Republican Karl Rove Labels Clint Eastwood Chrysler Commercial an Obama Ad, Most Taxpayers Don't: MyFoxCHICAGO.com

First, we have to say this: If you think anything Obama has done qualifies as "Chicago-style politics," as Costner says in The Untouchables, "Yeah well... you're not from Chicago." If Obama ran the nation the way Daley ran this town, 40 percent of Congress would be hand-picked and appointed by him directly. Health care reform would've been voted on in less than 24 hours. Rove's idea of "Chicago-style" politics might as well be putting a politician on a poppy seed bun and dragging it through the garden.

We agree with automobile news blog Jalopnik's assessment, that, "Anyone on the right or the left who thinks the ad was pro-Obama or pro-Republican are demonstrating exactly the bullshit false divides Eastwood warns against in the ad." The CEO of Chrysler told the Detroit Free Press the ad has "zero political content."

Eastwood sent a statement to Fox News, which Bill O'Reilly read on The O'Reilly Factor yesterday. "l am certainly not politically affiliated with Mr Obama," Eastwood said. "It was meant to be a message about just about job growth and the spirit of America. I think all politicians will agree with it." Watch O'Reilly read Eastwood's full statement in the video here:

As for whether the ad is an Eastwood endorsement of the automobile industry bailout, Jalopnik pointed out that just three months ago, Eastwood said, "We shouldn't be bailing out the banks and car companies. If a CEO can't figure out how to make his company profitable, then he shouldn't be the CEO."

Eastwood was a Republican when he voted for Dwight Eisenhower, and he was "nonpartisan" when he was mayor of Carmel-by-the-sea, Calif., from 1986 to 1988. In October 2010, he told Katie Couric that Obama is a "nice fella" but he's "not a fan of what he's doing."

The LA Times movie blog argued that Eastwood shouldn't be anywhere near the eye of this political storm because his work is decidedly apolitical, saying:

Eastwood even went to the trouble of making two World War II movies, “Letters from Iwo Jima” and “Flags of our Fathers,” to show both sides’ perspective. If anything, the argument is not that Eastwood has gotten too tendentious — it’s that he’s been too neutral.

Just last week, The Daily Caller asked Eastwood if he still felt about Obama the way he did in 2010 and whether Eastwood supported a particular GOP candidate. His response, “Now, whether any of these other guys [Republicans] would be any better, it’s a coin flip.”

When the interviewer asked who he would vote for as a “self-described libertarian,” Eastwood would only concede that Ron Paul is "as good as anybody else." Watch video of that exchange here:

By the way, according to the London Daily Mail, the ad wasn't filmed in Detroit. Stadium shots were done in New Orleans, and Eastwood is filmed in a tunnel at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. In case you didn't see the ad, watch it here. If you still think it sides with one particular party then "Go ahead, make my day" ...in the comments.

Contact the author of this article or email tips@chicagoist.com with further questions, comments or tips.

By Samantha Abernethy in News on February 7, 2012 2:20 PM 0 Comments

Comments [rss]

Len Harris

isn't Rowe a disgraced ex-government worker charged with outing a CIA operative because her husband was anti-Bush?
Rowe are a scumbag. Crawl back under your rock.

Petruce_Carrier

Leno pretty much nailed it the other night... " it's half time in America, but China’s got the ball and we’re down by 15 trillion.”

ChicagoD

You actually watch Leno? I always wondered who watched Leno. Makes sense that you get your policy stances from his stand up act.

P.S. China's got a $15 billion IOU. Question: Who has more interest in the health of a debtor, the debtor or the creditor?

Petruce_Carrier

Yeah, I get pretty much get all my 'stances' from stand up acts.

P.S. Who has more leverage in any negotiation... the debtor or the creditor?

slatsg

I thought the commercial was arrogant. I was watching the SB with my family and we all talked about how offensive it was. But given that it's sharing million-dollar space with fuckin' Bud "triple-filtered" Sapphire and the like, it probably gave a gazillion douche bags big patriotic boners. A simple "thank you" to the American people for bailing them out would have sufficed. Eastwood is an idiot. Rove is too, but you already knew that. It's fascinating watching the Republican party collapse due to these guys.

Connie Turner Cohen

Karl Rove has done more to harm the American people then any other person in modern American History. By being the "Architect" of George Bush's two successful runs for President, he helped create the "Great Recession." Millions of jobs were lost, a needless two trillion dollar war with Iraq was started, Wall Street crashed, millions of people lost their homes, I can go on and on. Obama inherited the horrible problems created by Karl Rove and his puppet Gorge Bush. I found the Clint Eastwood advertisement for Chrysler uplifting. It made me cry. I am glad, as a hard working, small business owner that my tax dollars went to save jobs and help the hard working people at Chrysler. Karl Rove is a negative person who has probably not created one job in his life, or ever done an honest days work. He makes me sick.

slowmodem

wait wait wait- Eastwood is a republican, and a vocal opponent of obama. And wasn't this an ad for chrysler? What freaking alternate reality do these people live in?

Paul Haider

While it is true that we vote early, we vote often, and we vote when deceased in our Chicago-style politics, it is also true that we have the common sense to vote for blue-collar Democrats instead of white-collar criminals and war criminals such as George W. Bush. If KKKarl Rove had any guts, he would make that accusation on the corner of Clark and Addison during this summer; it will give us the chance to swing for the fences but using Karl's fat head as if it was a bloated baseball.
Paul Haider, Chicago
P.S. The GOP is still full of rich Repugnantcans and RepubLieCons who are conservative tools.

furytrader

By "Blue-Collar Democrats", do you mean Barack Obama?

sat3911

Making that accusation on the corner of Clark and Addison isn't gutsy. Screaming "Free Beer" on the corner of Clark and Addison is gutsy.

BlueFairlane

Also, saying mean things about Iowa.

ElvisShalit

Fuck that lost voice mFer and his dumbass movies .

fizzandpop

Isn't he more interested in Chicago style pizza? Or ribs, chicken, steak, etc. I mean, he's a fat sweaty fuck who eats more than most African countries.

fizzandpop

Also, his boy Turd Blossom just came out and said that he'd do the auto bailout all over again if he had to. What is it Carl? Auto bailouts are good if W does 'em, but bad if the black man does 'em?

Peanut_Butter

Hey Karl, eat shit and die, you commie bastard!

Torta Potty

The whole time I was watching that ad on Sunday I was waiting for Clint Eastwood to declare war on some small foreign country, or Carmel even, in order to jump-start the economy.

Fluffhead513

What, Rove hasn't been recalled to the 9th circle of hell yet? Who is handling Satan's P.R. work?

tomdarch

To me, that commercial was very weird - it's impossible as a bailed-out car company for something like that to not have political implications. I don't think it managed to thread the needle without seeming partisan is some odd, contradictory ways. Kudos for them in trying to be ambitious, but sadly the result came across as a mess to me.

stewart_nyc

agreed

ChicagoD

Ha. Karl Rove supported Michelle Bachmann. One thing you never do in Chicago politics is back a loser. Poor Karl.

Navin_Johnson

We don't want no crazy broad nobody sent.

Kevin_Robinson

Chicago D won the internet today. Or at least the local internet.

hillarys_new_shoes

Made a good showing in the SF market today as well, I can attest!

"Tim Osman"

Karl Rove offended by someone else's politics? That is the definition of hypocrisy.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v...

j

This ad is dead on. Karl Rowe is up to his old tricks of trying to make a strength a weakness. He wants America to fail until a new age Republican is back in office so they can take credit for everything. But while Obama is in office, it's fear... fear ... fear. I think folks are finally starting to see through this.

tomdarch

Pretty much.... The Republicans know that the better the economy is doing in November, the better the Democrats do and the worse the economy is, the better they do. Resurgent US automakers point towards a good year for America, but a bad election for Republicans. So who are the real patriots in all of this?

Roark

"In essence, using our tax dollars to buy corporate advertising and the best wishes of the management"

Well after viewing 8 years of oil company and GE Public Relations ads - isn't the response to that statement:

"I learned it from watching you Rove!"