- Playing
- Clint Wasn't Always Politically Inept
- From
- Dick Meister
Despite his bizarre Republican Convention performance, Clint Eastwood once had political skills.
More from Dick Meister
Good News For Our Neediest Workers
(04:03)
From: Dick Meister
Commentary: More than 850,000 minimum wage workers in 10 states will be getting raises in the new year.
Home Care Workers Need Presidential Help
(02:21)
From: Dick Meister
It's time for President Obama to help the country's home care workers.
Many Profit From Bowl Games. But Not The Players
(04:01)
From: Dick Meister
Commentary: Student athletes get very little of the millions generated by college football's bowl games.
A Free Choice For US Workers
(04:13)
From: Dick Meister
Commentary: It's time to enact a proposed law that would give workers the absolute right to unionization.
We All Need A Higher Minimum Wage
(04:33)
From: Dick Meister
Raising the minimum wage should be a key post-election priority.
Labor's Major Election Challenge
(02:41)
From: Dick Meister
Commentary: Labor faces its greatest election challenge in California.
Missing A Vital Election Message
(03:13)
From: Dick Meister
Repealing the union-crippling Taft-Hartley Act should have been a prime issue throughout the election campaign.
A Farm Worker Champion
(02:56)
From: Dick Meister
Commentary: John Steinbeck was a great champion of farm labor.
We're Providing The Wrong Kind Of New Jobs
(03:01)
From: Dick Meister
Commentary: Although we're recovering from the Great Recession, most of the new jobs are low-paying, non-union jobs.
Related Pieces
Piece Description
Despite his bizarre Republican Convention performance, Clint Eastwood once had political skills.
Broadcast History
none
Transcript
Sure, you might think that Clint Eastwood lacks political savvy, given his bizarre presentation at the Republican National Convention. But Clint was once plenty savvy. He showed that clearly during his two-year stint as mayor of tourist favorite Carmel, California.
Prior to his election, folks in Carmel and elsewhere tended to think of Clint as just a rugged, handsome movie actor playing at politics. But, boy, were they wrong. Listen to what Carmel resident Jean Lajigian said after Eastwood took office in 1986.
"When I voted for Clint Eastwood, she said I knew that democracy worked, that we could change things. Since he's been mayor, there's been just an upbeat feeling in the community."
Mrs. Lajigian and her husband Michael were merchants in heavily-touristed Carmel and, as such, had been at odds with local politicians. The politicians did not share the great fondness for tourists...
Read the full transcript
Intro and Outro
INTRO:Commentator Dick Meister says there once was another political side to Clint Eastwood.
OUTRO:Dick Meister is a San Francisco columnist and an ice cream aficionado.
