Among the more fun Super Bowl commercials—how great was it to see Jerry Seinfeld and the Soup Nazi again?—was a two-minute piece narrated by Clint Eastwood titled “Halftime in America.” In this election year, that commercial has become quite the political hot potato. Democrats insist the spot validates Obama’s controversial decision to bail out Chrysler and GM and save UAW jobs. Republicans are crying foul, insisting the commercial is payback to the Democrats for that same decision.
It’s unfortunate that the commercial has become so politicized. The moment I finished watching it, I wanted to blog about it. I thought it was great. But my angle is not a political one. It’s a visceral one. That commercial incited in me everything, I suspect, it set out to: pride, excitement, hope. America needs a pep talk every now and then—especially those of us in the manufacturing-challenged Midwest—and I think that commercial provided us with a good one.
“We find a way through tough times, and if we can’t find a way, we make one.” It’s difficult to argue with a message like that.
What about you? How did you react to the Chrysler commercial?
