Quick Hits: Volume LIX

-To think, in early February many Americans were left with the impression that a certain iconic actor/director was a supporter of President Barack Obama. Such sentiments were derived from a Chrysler commercial during halftime of the Super Bowl telecast.

The lights faded and a man’s dark silhouette walked onto a giant screen as an ominous rumble swelled on the sound system. “It’s halftime in America, too,” intoned a familiar resonant voice. “People are out of work and they’re hurting.” Only in the closing moments did Clint Eastwood’s face fill the screen. “Detroit’s showing us it can be done,” he said as the music swelled. “This country can’t be knocked down with one punch. We get right back up again and when we do, the world’s going to hear the roar of our engines. Yeah. It’s halftime, America. And our second half is about to begin.”

Many assumed this was a quasi endorsement of Obama, who was a strong supporter of the auto bail outs and early February was the halfway point of his first term.

But that speculation was put to bed as Eastwood officially endorsed GOP Presidential hopeful Mitt Romney earlier this month. And now the rumored "mystery speaker" Thursday at the Republican National Convention is slated to be Eastwood.

Perhaps Eastwood could resurrect his  proclamation of this being "halftime in America" by conveying that America is equivalent to the early 80s San Francisco 49ers, specifically on December 7, 1980 when they trailed the New Orleans Saints 35-7 at halftime. The Niners rallied for a 38-35 win in that game. Any chance Romney can don a Joe Montana jersey Thursday?


-Given all the vapidity offered up by Hollywood celebrities with their political opining, Dennis Miller is a refreshing diversion. Watching Miller take apart Jay Leno on The Tonight Show recently proves that there's occasional clarity coming from the land moral depravity. At about 2:45 into the clip below, Miller backs Leno into a corner by asking him what he likes about Obama.



Poor Jay. You could tell he was offering up little more than the typical leftist talking points by referencing the GOP "War on Women" or Obama having "compassion for regular folks."

Regarding the factually deficient "War on Women" chanting point, I commend your attention to Katherine Kersten's piece in the Star Tribune recently (Yeah, facts are stubborn things). And this nonsense that President Obama has "compassion for regular people?" Since when is creating a society where capable people become dependent on government considered "compassionate?"


-The Twins are not going trade Joe Mauer. The fact he was put on "waivers" was merely a procedural move.

1500 ESPN's Phil Mackey explains.

.....[S]trategic reasons may include, but are not limited to the following:
• Just in case an offer is too good to pass up. If the Dodgers call 30 minutes before the Aug. 31 waiver trade deadline and offer three top prospects for Justin Morneau, the Twins would be handcuffed if they hadn't passed Morneau through waivers yet.
• As a blanket policy that all players are placed on waivers no matter if the team intends to trade them or not. This is the policy adhered to by the Twins front office.
• As a smokescreen to disguise who they really want to trade.
• To help gauge interest. If 10 teams put in a claim on a player, the Twins -- or any other team -- would know how many teams might have interest in acquiring him.

With a full "no-trade" clause, Mauer would have likely declined any deal had one occurred. He knows how good he has it in Minnesota despite what will be a second straight season of 90+ losses for the team. Sure, Twins fans get a little cranky with Joe when he's not hitting above .300 and/or sitting out with innocuous injuries. But what pebbles Mauer gets tossed at him in Minnesota pales in comparison to the Rock of Gibraltar size criticism he'd endure in, say, New York, Boston or Los Angeles.

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