Final Results of the Recent Clint Eastwood "Halftime in America" Ad Poll

In the recent poll in which I asked people to give their opinion of the Chrysler ad featuring Clint Eastwood, an overwhelming majority of you voted "thumbs up". Here are the final results:

Thumbs up: 82%
Thumbs down: 17%

Thanks to all of you who participated in and commented on this poll. Below, "Clint Eastwood" has a few choice words for the people who misinterpreted the Chrysler ad.

Please Take A Moment To Vote In the Clint Eastwood "Halftime in America" Ad... Thank You

Please note that this post is "future dated" because it's poll-related. For posts which were written after this one, but have their actual date attached to them, please scroll down. Thank you.

During the halftime of Super Bowl XLV, Clint Eastwood appeared in a Chrysler ad titled "Halftime in America". Feelings on the ad seem to be divided along party lines. While David Axelrod (President Obama’s campaign manager) and Dan Pfeiffer (the White House communications director) praised the ad, Fox News contributors Karl Rove and Michelle Malkin weren't so enthused.

I thought the ad was both positive and powerful in its "we may be down, but we're not out" message about America. Since when did promoting the spirit of America become a bad thing in the collective eyes of some on the right?! You can show how you felt about the Chrysler ad by voting thumbs up or down in the poll in the upper portion of the sidebar on the right.

Below is the ad followed by the Hardball segment in which Chris Matthews discusses the ad with political consultant Mark McKinnon.

Speaking of controversial Super Bowl ads, please see the post dated February 7th below.  

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Pete Hoekstra Ad Draws Criticism For Racial Insensitivity Against Asians

While getting ready to head out to a Super Bowl party, I saw the now infamous ad run by U.S. Senate candidate Pete Hoekstra against Michigan incumbent Debbie Stabenow. The ad features a young Asian actress thanking Sen. Stabenow for weakening the U.S. economy and making China's stronger. The problem with the ad is that it has the actress speaking in broken English as if she just stepped off the set of a Charlie Chan flick. It was kinda surreal for me when I first saw the ad because I had to ask myself if I saw and heard what I think I did.

Although the ad only aired in Michigan markets before and during The Super Bowl, it is getting criticism on a nationwide level (from both sides of the political aisle) due to its racial insensitivity.  In the article that I linked to above, Hoekstra defended the ad (which is scheduled to run for two weeks on cable stations across Michigan).

By the way, there is actually a website titled Debbiespenditnow.com and it's as over-the-top with the Asian imagery as you can imagine.

In the clips below, Cenk Uygur of The Young Turks and Lawrence O'Donnell attack the ad... but from different angles.

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Doritos Ad Causes Some Baby Mama Drama

While listening to the radio on my way to work this morning, the show hosts were discussing the commercials that aired during Super Bowl XLIV the previous night. One man called in to say he felt the Doritos ad featuring a black man visiting the home of his date (a single mother) was racist. The caller thought the commercial implied that the single mother was a "baby mama". I was like, "caller say what?!" because I saw the spot and didn't see the racist connotation.



As a matter of fact, I found the commercial to be very funny. When I did some research on the web once I got home from work, I discovered that other people felt the same way as the gentleman who called into the radio show.

To assume that the woman's son was born out of wedlock is a reach to say the least. For all we know, the single mother could be a divorcée or a widow. She could also be a single mother via adoption. In jumping the gun and calling the spot racist, detractors are overlooking a couple of things. The performers are free of stereotypes (thankfully, the single mother did not look or sound as if she stepped off the set of B.A.P.S.) and the woman's home is immaculate.

By the way, props to the woman's son in the Doritos ad. Although I don't condone kids delivering smackdowns to adults, you have to respect a young man who protects his mama... and his Doritos!

Is the ad racist? You make the call.