>> clint eastwood is clint eastwood. he did do some improving to make a serious point that 23 million americans are out of work and it is a very big deal and time for a change. >> you must have been a bit queasy. he was supposed to speak for five minutes. he ad libbed for another seven. at one point, you have dirty harry talking to an empty chair. >> he ad libbed but he was making a very serious point. the crowd loved it. you can't look at clint eastwood, an american icon. you can't look at him through the same political lens you would other politicians. he is clint eastwood. >> if you wake up tomorrow and the headlines are, clint eastwood goes bonkers. >> they won't be, because mitt romney had a killer speech. he did three things that were very important for him to do. he talked about his positive vision for the future and where he wants to take this country. he suck sisfully and very effectively prosecuted the case against barack obama and finally, he talk td about what's important to him. that's what americans want to

he's clint eastwood. >> if you wake up tomorrow and all of the headlines are clint eastwood goes bunkers, that's not good for you, is it? >> they won't be and i'll tell you why. mitt romney had a killer speech tonight. he talked about his positive vision for the country and wants to successfully and very effectively prosecuted the case against barack obama and talks about what is important to him. so that's what americans want to hear. we have the obligation to talk about the big differences between our campaign and what president obama has done and when you look at what mitt romney wants to do, he wants to have a stronger middle class with more jobs and takehome pay compared to what this president has done with the 23 million americans struggling to find work. >> i've got to be honest, i rather enjoyed the speech. i've seen twitter, some people loved it and i thought he did a solid job they are 70 days left. where we'll go from tampa is to all of the targeted states and we'll take the same message. we will continue to contrast governor romney's positive mission. americans are not happy

they thought clint could do it. i thought it was sort of a tragic moment for clint eastwood, a little tragic for the campaign arch. >> a guy who is iconic and made great movies. let me play a clip of clint last night. >> how do you handle promises that you've made when you were running for election and how do you handle it? i mean, what do you say to people? do you just -- i know people are wond wondering -- you don't -- okay. >> he also made off-color jokes which seemed to make the romney and paul ryan family seem to be a little squirmy. barack obama tweeted, this seat's taken. obviously a play on the empty chair. david axelrod, what the heck is this? was this a campaign mistake of the nth degree? >> of epic proportions. they trusted this precious time and moment in the campaign on national tv to someone who obviously just had an idea. now, he may be a great living legend in terms of popular culture and movies, but you cannot just surrender your platform. this was a judgment question for people who allowed that to

of clint eastwood?re still with him, anybody have a problem with him. apparently the blog has been very, very tough. >> he was cute, but it was not effective. >> do you think he was disrespectful of the president? i thought it should have been at the golden globes or something, not at the republican national convention. >> it looked like he was talking to his imaginary friend. >> did romney get to you tonight? did he show he was not a robot, but a human? >> i don't think so, if president romney had gotten rid of the stock market -- >> i think mitt romney proved that he is more than capable of being the new president. and jobs are the issues, and he creates jobs. >> i think the whole night turned it for me. basically all the staples, founders, all the experience he had, the olympics. >> you think he is a job creator? >> yes, he proved it. >> miss, you got your food, but you want to talk about this? >> i missed the entire thing, i was at hooters. >> okay, thank you, what do you think? >> i think as a coun

, clint's the man from young guys i know. >> i got a few tweets saying, what on earth is clint eastwood? he's gone completely crackers? >> well, it was very entertaining for the people that were there and there were jokes in it and the clint eastwood -- that kind of edge that he had in dirty harry, a lot of people wouldn't find it funny but he said make my day either. so it became a signature performance and signature moment in all of the film and that's what it was like up there. only clint could do what he did. >> five minutes of that was scripted and the other seven minutes was ad lib. pretty dangerous to do that, isn't it? >> exactly dangerous and then i say, bravo, man. that's the greatest. >> what do you think dirty harry would do? >> yeah. he's really going for it. >> how do you think mitt romney did tonight? >> i think he was wonderful tonight. look, as i say, it's always this way. the people on the left are going to try to find some holes in it. i think he was very clear and i think it was an elegant speech and i think it covered what needed to be covered and crescendo and from

clint eastwood is an icon, a fabulous actor. but you put somebody up on the stage where you have 20 million people watching. he's supposed to be making the case why mitt romney needs to replace the current president and that was a complete whiff of the ball. >> who is he supposed to appeal? >> apparently no one in the chair because there's nobody in the chair. >> we know that romney's doing well with women, latinos, with white males, certain age groups -- >> he's got the white males. >> who is clint eastwood designed to appeal to? >> maybe it seemed too cute by an inch -- i don't know. i'll go home this weekend on my way to charlotte and i'll ask people, what did you think of the clint eastwood thing? >> you don't have to ask people that. go online. >> my people in south carolina don't know what online is. >> you're meaning your family. >> yeah. i'll ask my brother. he'll probably say, it was pretty damn weird. it was weird. i don't get it. >> michael moore said, clint eastwood drove home to tens of millions of viewers the centr

so, clint eastwood. what do you think?st: my old colleague from "line of fire," the first movie i worked on in hollywood. >>neil: are you surprised? >>guest: he is not big on the campaigns. if anything, in california, let is probably supported democrats more recently than --. >>neil: when he was in carmel, he was republican? >>guest: not partisan, but it is understood he was republican. >>neil: people thought he was for the president with the ad on tv, my guess is we will hear him explain that. that will be quite interesting. i am sure there will be a response. >>neil: now the question is, it is like when you come before the next guest, the next guest has a tough act to follow. >>guest: and people should see what we are doing at nights, we are really bashing. >>neil: now, you are following clint eastwood and if he is sandwiched, or placed between marco rubio and mitt romney --. >>guest: is that where he is going to be. >>neil: i don't that. >>pat: my guess is he will be before rubio. maybe not. hey, this is hollywood. holl

many talked about clint eastwood's entitled show "the invisible man." and 41-year-old senator marco rubio, drawing big praise, for the vision he laid down in his speech to introduce mitt romney. this morning, mitt romney hit the campaign trail on a freshly wrapped plane that shows he is the official nominee of the republican party. he will hold a rally in virginia, where he appears alongside his running mate, paul ryan. and a night nobody will forget, from clint eastwood, to marco rubio, to romney himself. the former governor of massachusetts making an entrance as he made the rope line towards the stage. he made appeal, as did many speakers this week to women voters, talking about the parents who shaped his values. >> my mom and dad were true partners. a life lesson that shaped me by everyday example. when my mom ran for the senate, my dad was there for her every step of the way. i could still see her saying in her beautiful voice, why should women have any less say than men about the great decisions facing our nation? don't you wish you could have been

clint eastwood. everybody has an opinion including, of course, ann romney. again because, again, the words of what ann romney said when you read them do not do the justice. you have to watch her reaction. here she is. >> do you wish that video had aired in prime time instead of clint eastwood's monologue? >> you know, i think it's important that people do see that side of mitt. we appreciated clint's support, of course, but yes, i do wish more people had seen -- had seen those touching moments. >> well, that was the first part of the question, of course, we played earlier the second part. obviously ann romney didn't think the clint eastwood thing went that well. what do you think? >> i'll add perspective on conversation. "space cowboys" was much worse than what clint eastwood said last night. voters won't remember it. voters will remember that clint eastwood was there, but they won't remember how completely awkward it was. >> however, it is the first thing you saw when an additional 15 to 20 million people tuned in at that 10:00 hour on the broadcast network

by -- >> clint eastwood. >> yeah.t i thought it was a go ahead night for our -- good night for our side. >> how about mitt romney? >> you forget how good he is. i think ann romney set him up perfectly after her speech the other night and her command of the stage, commanding silence, using silence as a weapon almost. all he really had to do was be genuine, be himself and he was. you know, i think he's so good that people forget how good he is. >> he's a good man. is he a good leader, a good public official? he doesn't seem comfortable in that role. >> he's tremendously comfortable in that role. he grasps responsibility. when there was a disaster in the big dig in the mass turnpike he grabbed it and said i want authority over this and he took it and cleaned the thing up like with the olympics. never more comfortable than when making decisions. i would describe him as a born executive with a ton of discipline. that may strike some people as formality but you want a commander in chief that has a gear loose. i don't think

you know, clint what do you need a chair for? scrabble. [ laughter ] >> stephanie: okay. mitt romney's sister assures voters he is not going to touch abortion. wow. >> if you are pro life and you are supporting mittens, you are crazy. romney care covers abortions, and this was the week that mitt romney came out and said he supports the complete and full repeal of roe v wade and allowing rape victims to have abortion rights. he went up against paul ryan himself. >> stephanie: he was literally speaking to a group and said he's not going to do anything about abortion. don't worry about it. and he is saying the opposite. literally they are trying to have it every way on every issue. >> exactly right. i had this talk with governor spitzer last night. wall street controls the republican party and no matter what they say that's who they serve. they'll tell you what you want to hear but they serve wall street. they don't care about abortion, gay marriage or mexico. >> stephanie: yeah. john fugelsang with be with the a-team next week al g

clint eastwood i strongly disagree.ond. >> look, the best speech of the convention was given by romney. it was just given by ann, not by mitt. he wasn't terrible. he really wasn't. but he didn't do what he needed to do. it was ann's job to humanize him. and she did a wonderful job. she took this an ma tronic robot, which is most people's image of governor romney. and made him into a dad, a husband. it was a terrific speech by ann romney. but mitt didn't then have to do that. he didn't have to humanize himself further, and he's not very good at it. he need today chart a course. what is he going to do to create jobs for the middle class different from what bush did, different from what obama did? he could have been a third-way leader but it's not in him. he doesn't have any ideas that herbert hoover or george w. bush couldn't run on. >> hold on, mary. instead of speaking in general -- generalities if you will, what he wants to do, should he have gone in this acceptance speech into those kinds of specific details what he w

clint eastwood. >> they said it was a mystery speaker. what we didn't realize was it was a mystery to them as well. >> surprise. >> surely, they did not expect everybody to be talking about this. the nominee gave a perfectly serviceable speech. quite a good speech, but it's lost in this now. i guess i blame hurricane isaac for just jumbling the whole thing up and they just got some bad karma. >> i'm not so sure about that. karen, i want to play one bit of sound from last night from the nominee himself because that's who we should be talking about. a bit where he paid tribute to the late neil armstrong. >> that unique blend of optimism, humility and the utter confidence that when the world needs someone to do the really big stuff, you need an american. >> some people have suggested that was a little nod towards those who believe the president, the current president is something other than an american. >> i also sort of took it as this idea, remember in the beginning of the campaign, romney was talking about and we've heard him, he doesn't

the clint eastwood that we know, the image of the clint eastwood we know, and it was disappointing. i sort of felt like where were his people to say no, we're not letting him go out on stage with his hair unbrushed and just wing it. >> i had the impression clint said yes, i'll do it and they said what do you want to do and he said i'll just think of something and they said fine. that's a mistake. the very least he should have asked for an opening line. >> exactly. >> look what's happened. i have been sitting out here for six or seven minutes. what have we been talking about? mitt romney? no. that's the take-home from last night's event. >> let us talk about mitt romney, he whose name shall not be mentioned. how did mitt romney do last night, in terms of presenting his case as an actor? >> not as an actor but as a performer, let's say. he's not an actor. >> yes. sorry. >> i would say that he has certainly improved, without question. he was more confident. he was more assertive. he was more relaxed. and let us now ask why. he was preaching to the converted. he was, as we say, preachin

. >> clint and the empty chair. the off the script speech that has everyone buzzing this morning. >> i'm rob marciano in new orleans where the rain has stopped, but in many parts of the state, the floodwaters have yet to recede. a live report coming up. >>> in new york, it's the eve of penn state's season opener. i sat down with some of the players to talk about what pressure they feel as the school tries to rebuild itself in the wake of the sex abuse scandal. i'll have that story coming up. >>> and roddick's retirement. andy roddick, the best american men's tennis player the past decade is stepping down after the u.s. open. "cnn newsroom" starts right now. >>> good morning. happy friday to you. i'm carol costello. we begin with the good, the bad, and the bizarre. of the republican national convention. on the party's biggest night in four years, mitt romney accepts the nomination and delivers the most important speech of his lifetime. but a hollywood icon goes off script and steals the show. clint eastwood raises ey

i think clint eastwood is iconic.hink most people out there, most americans will actually remember the clint eastwood endorsing and supporting mitt romney in this election and then they will move on to the issues they care about most, which is did he give them the confidence to lead them for the next four years and are the policies what we need. that's where we are in this campaign. >> fair enough. in fact, the "new york times" laid it out on the front page today, that this is really a marriage and some would say a bad marriage, and what the romney campaign has to do is persuade americans that they really want to divorce this man they fell in love with, barack obama. that's the "new york times" analogy. here's one of the moments from that speech last night. >> how many days have you woken up feeling that something really special was happening in america. many of you felt that way on election day four years ago, hope and change had a powerful appeal. but tonight, i would ask a simple question. if you felt that exciteme

quickly, you two. >> i'm a big clint eastwood fan. i think he's thrilling.'m in the over 50 group that david is talking about. i was thoroughly disappointed to see my hero look so uncertain and you know, incoherent is probably too strong. it didn't seem to hold together. i never got what is the message, what is the point. it seemed a little bit degrading to the president. i wasn't comfortable with that. >> brit: one thing. it stretched on. he had 5 minutes and it went 12 minutes. it pushed back the romney speech. >> generally when there's a consensus among the washington press corps that something is awful and horrendous, i like it. that wasn't necessarily the case this time around. the big practical problem is that we spent a lot of time today, everybody spent a lot of time today talking about clint eastwood and not mitt romney and not marco rubio. this program last night was meant to highlight marco rubio. many more minutes spent talking about east wood than marco rubio. > >> brit: next up, the friday lightning round. blac follow the wings. >> brit: welcom

clint is an actor. he cannot come off any other way so give him something to read or some structure, otherwise he is on his own >> what is the politics of this. you're up there giving speeches and sometimes you have introductory remarks. how do you react when you get something like that? >> i tried to get right back to the theme and i know ours will be jobs jobs jobs. that is what i think bringing all these people across the country is all about. the convention will be open to the public. in addition to $6,000 gifts, some 35,000 people are coming. i think it is a wonderful time to bring this country together >> will it be a script affair like we saw in tampa? >> what you see on television will be scripted. all of what he is talking about will be off script unless it helps obama get reelected. i think it would be fascinating to see ed lee, some 20 years later at another convention but now, it is an official capacity and important official capacity, the number one asian mayor in the country >> as opposed

and it was all working, putting clint eastwood aside. it back to the dnc obama speech of 2008 where he didn't really have a lot of those personal testimonials because clearly obama is very comfortable talking about himself and his life and he connects very well with an audience when he's doing that. mitt, as we know, has a trickier time. what did you make of the night and then finally capped off by romney's speech itself? >> well, i thought they blew a huge opportunity by actually lousy choreographing. you want, especially in a candidate who you really need to get the american people to learn about, to learn what's in his gut, you want those testimonials from people who knew him and people he helped, you want that very good ten-minute video. you want those to be saen scene -- seen by the maximum amount of americans. that's the people watching on tv between the hours of 10:00 and 11:00. the fox viewers are a tenth of the office and the political junkies who already have their minds made up. but for those americans tuning in other networks

the official line on clint eastwood -- "judging an american icon like clint eastwood through a political lens does not work. that was a break from all the political speeches. the crowd enjoyed it. he pointed at 23 million americans are not employed. it is time for a change." let's go back to the floor. >> a familiar face for those who watched our "contenders" serious. you have written a lot about campaigns, contentions -- conventions, nomination speeches. what was the count mitt romney was trying to achieve? >> a combination of two recent speeches. the first half and led a lot of people of the george h. w. speech in 1988, when he talked about wanting a kinder and gentler america. governor romney came out with a soothing tone. try to be relaxed and informal. we talk about governor romney needing to humanize himself, and that is what he seemed to try to talk about. raising his five sons, his father and family life. the second half was more aggressive, obviously. it reminded me of the bob dole speech in 1996, which was a strong indictment of bill clinton. there was a line that really stuck

i was rather surprised -- >> clint eastwood also has an appeal to women. i just thought i'd mention that. just think about that. >> you understand that celebrity endorsements have a very low yield in turning out votes. >> i'm sure you're endorsement carries a lot of weight, john. don't be modest. >> all celebrity endorsement. the exception of this is oprah. >> let's see if clint eastwood actually campaigns with romney. i suspect he will not. >> why? >> i don't think he'll campaign with him. let's see. if he does -- >> do you recall, there was another gentleman who had a hollywood event, a dinner, and he gave the proceeds of that dinner to barack obama's campaign. who was that? >> lots of hollywood figures. >> david geffen. >> do you know who dells that? i'm talking about a hollywood actor. >> george clooney. >> george clooney did that. he threw the dinner, and he -- >> well, no, you can give up to about $31,000 to the obama victory fund. >> he gave about 20,000. >> and that's what each head, each person was paying. obama throws a ton of these in new york a

a rambling clint eastwood and his chair.ot an exclusive interview with the man himself. we'll get to him in a minute. honestly, i woke up this morning and i wasn't sure it really happened, but right before the biggest speech of governor romney's life, this happened. >> i've got mr. obama sitting here, and he's -- i just was going to ask him a couple questions. how do you handle promises that you made when you were running for election and how do you handle, how do you handle it? what do you say to people? do you just -- what do you mean shut up? i'm not going to shut up. it's my turn. i think if you just kind of stepped ide and mr. romney can kind of take over, you can still use the plane. though maybe a smaller one. speaking out for everybody out there, it doesn't hurt, we don't have to be -- i don't say that word anymore. well, maybe one last time. i'll start it, you finish it. go ahead -- >> make my day! >> thank you. >> yes, america, it was not a dream. from washington to hollywood, it's all anyone is talking about. the

clint eastwood's weird performance.es we're our own worst enemy, i'm afraid, jamal. michael moore who i have always loved, been to every one of his movies, he was the champion of universal healthcare, you know, fahrenheit. 9-11. but he gave an interview with "huffington post" yesterday and he said it is all over. romney is going to win because they're going to have more money so we may as well get used to saying president mitt romney. >> yeah, you know, michael moore has been -- he has made some good movies. he's from michigan like i am. he made the good movie about flint. he's a little bit of a loose cannon. in 2004, he came and did an event for us when he was supposed to be endorsing general clark in new hampshire and talking about general clark's -- and he attacked the president as a draft dodger. it sent our campaign into a whirlwind. >> bill: thank you michael moore. >> thank you for that. so, you want him on your side but you don't necessarily always want him out-front. >> bill: he has to understand, he has nothin

clint eastwood. susan mcginnis? >> absolutely at clint eastwood's speech and then there's mitt romney, who talking to folks here, he definitely delivered last night. he promised no new taxes on the middle class and 12 million new jobs. mitt romney got a standing ovation as he entered the convention hall for the biggest speech of his life. >> i am proud to introduce to you the next president of the united states of america, mitt romney. >>nd romney wasted little time making his nomination official. >> i accept your nomination for president of the united states. >> he focused on his life, including an emotional nod to his parents. >> my mom and dad were true partners. a life lesson that shaped me by everyday example. when my mom ran for the senate, my dad was there for her every step of the way. >> he laid out why he should win in november. >> i have a plan to create 12 million new jobs. >> and why he thinks president obama should not win. >> you know there's something wrong with the kind of job he's done as president

clint eastwood went over big with the audience in the hall. but his fake interview with an absent president obama, imagining him in an empty chair, got a quick response from the president. who tweeted a picture and the words, this seat is taken. >> now, of course, eastwood may not be winning any awards for that performance, the reviews overnight were harsh, but romney, on the other hand got generally good reviews. many people were saying it's the best speech that he's ever given. the campaign is going to try to take that momentum now on the road. they've got an event in lakeland, florida, this morning. they're off then to north carolina and ohio. they'll be in their new campaign plane. we heard this a lot last night from romney and a theme over the next ten weeks, on the plane it says believe in america. norah and charlie. >> with us now from tampa is ann romney. good morning. >> good morning. >> what did you want america to know about your husband as he spoke last night and did it resonate in your judgment? >> you know, i was very, very touch

i think that clint eastwood is interesting because no matter what script he's given, he's still clint eastwood. we know the guy, his back story. he's tough. he's got character. the big problem tonight for mitt romney is will the words define him or will they simply guide us to his weaknesses, his attempts to create a notion of himself rather than the reality. i'll go back to it, the back story is more important than the script tonight. we'll all be watching for that thing. >> there's one thing i wanted to get your take on before we go too far. we just fed in this tape from chris christie today talking to delegates in tampa about how they should react to mitt romney's speech. this is chris christie. listen. >> i want to tell you something. i've been a little bit disappointed at the volume of noise on the floor of that convention the last two nights. i've got to be honest with you. i've been a little disappointed in it. i'm going to urge all of you tonight, i'm going to urge all of you tonight, this is the last night. you don't have to leave anything in the tank. okay? there's nothing t

maybe not the best thing in the world, but i love clint eastwood.o i will give him some string to pull on. that's next up, the clint eastwood story at the convention last night. at usaa, we believe honor is not exclusive to the military, and commitment is not limited to one's military oath. the same set of values that drive our nation's military are the ones we used to build usaa bank. with our award winning apps that allow you to transfer funds, pay bills or manage your finances anywhere, anytime. so that wherever your duty takes you, usaa bank goes with you. visit us online to learn what makes our bank so different. i don't have to use gas. i am probably going to the gas station about once a month. drive around town all the time doing errands and never ever have to fill up gas in the city. i very rarely put gas in my chevy volt. last time i was at a gas station was about...i would say... two months ago. the last time i went to the gas station must have been about three months ago. i go to the gas station such a small amount that i forget how to pu

i think you saw the ugly with the clint eastwood speech.n all seriousness, when you have an hour to basically make your case to the american people that any strategist for the republican candidate thought this was a good idea, i would suggest they start thinking about a new line of work or new career. this was an awful idea. it hurt them. it hurt their message. it's what we're talking about. it really was a huge mistake. i can tell you ann romney, she was not thrilled. that was the exact opposite face of a thrilled spouse. >> from a headline perspective, does that take people off course what the headline should be today? >> just a bit, yes. i would add, i was on the convention floor when that happened. a lot of the delegates on the floor actually thought it was pretty funny. but i was reading through twitter and people thought it was so strange. now the romney campaign, while mitt romney was speaking, said it was a break from all the political speeches. but the thing is using clint eastwood was innately political because during the super bo

as another republican official put it "it's clint eastwood. if elvis wants to sing a longer song, do you turn off his mic?" >> pelley: anthony, thanks very much. now we're going to open the mic of bob schieffer, our chief washington correspondent and anchor of "face the nation." he's already in charlotte where the democrats will be meeting next week. bob, in your opinion the hall with eastwood last night. >> oh, i tell you... (laughs) you know, scott this was gonna be mitt romney's big night, when they finally had the distractions out of the way and he could lay out his program for the american people. but this morning any television program you turned on, all the radio talk shows, all they were talking about was not mitt romney's speech but clinton eastwood's speech! and, i mean, it was the same on the ground. as i was leaving the hotel in tampa the car parkers are saying "what was that all about? who was he talking to? what was he saying that he couldn't do?" i get out to the airport nobody asked me about romney's speech, they asked me about

both clint eastwood's and mitt romney's. but before that back to new york and my friend, zoraida sambolin. >> i know you were there last night and you were watching. did you have one of those moments that you thought was reegly significant or something you're going to be talking about a little bit later. there's a lot of chatter about marco rubio as well. >> my moment was about mitt romney. i've covered mitt romney for a lot of years and i followed him back when he was governor of massachusetts. there was stories and a tone that i've never heard before. he told a story about how his father left a rose for his mother every morning of their lives and the mother knew that the father george romney passed away because one morning she woke up and there was no rose there. and he also spoke about how he longed to see his five boys fighting in his bedroom every morning. there was some human moments there from mitt romney that you do not usually see from him and if you were tuning in for the first time to that election that may have l