海角大神

Clint Eastwood鈥檚 Chrysler Super Bowl ad is still getting a lot of national attention, if you haven鈥檛 heard. Many Democrats think it鈥檚 an implicit Obama campaign ad, since it talks about 鈥渉alftime in America鈥� and the return of Detroit from the economic scrapyard. 鈥淩emember the auto bailout? Yeah, that was us.鈥� That鈥檚 the Democrat鈥檚 new mantra.

Some Republicans are upset about that same thing. Former Bush White House political guru . Now, Rove is a pretty smart guy, so he鈥檚 probably trying to get in the way of Obama wrapping himself in Chrysler鈥檚 flag. (Think they don鈥檛 have a flag? You鈥檝e never been to Chrysler headquarters. GM and Ford have flags too.)

But it鈥檚 our view that this argument is easily overblown. As we鈥檝e said, most of America did not view this ad, and think, 鈥淥h, we鈥檙e so happy the White House provided financing for Chrysler to negotiate a quick managed bankruptcy and end up in the arms of an Italian automaker that used to be known for poor quality!鈥�

No, they saw that ad, and they saw Detroit staring back at them 鈥� a flawed, proud industrial giant that鈥檚 trying to claw its way back. And it鈥檚 right that Clint Eastwood was the face of this. He was great in the role, for one. For another, he鈥檚 beloved in the Motor City.

We鈥檙e speaking here as a Detroit native, someone whose first job in journalism was a Detroit News paper route. We鈥檝e got three Bill Freehan autographs. We could hear the Ford tractor plant from our house. Didn鈥檛 know that Ford used to actually make farm equipment in the Detroit area? Now you do.

Detroit鈥檚 a shadow of itself now. They talk about letting parts of the city go back to nature. But the city is angry, and proud, and both resentful and grateful to anyone in Washington who will give it a chance.

The headline on the News website this morning was not, 鈥淲as Eastwood ad political?鈥� It was 鈥淐hrysler鈥檚 hourly employees to get bonuses early.鈥� That鈥檚 what鈥檚 important in the Motor City.

The 鈥減olitical鈥� argument over the Eastwood spot misses the point of the ad, argues News columnist Daniel Howes today. It鈥檚 really about how Detroit collapsed in its own mistakes, and how everyone has to come together to bring it back, and how much that costs 鈥� in lost jobs, shuttered dealers, broken dreams.

It鈥檚 also about whether Detroit鈥檚 experience writes Mr. Howes. Look upon us, and see yourself. This is what we all have to do to recover.

And that brings us back to Eastwood. He鈥檚 a movie star, a Republican, a former mayor of Carmel, Calif. That鈥檚 pretty far from a Detroit experience.

But he鈥檚 in the ad because he鈥檚 a Motor City icon. It鈥檚 not because he smashed up lots of Detroit iron in the Dirty Harry flicks. It鈥檚 because of Eastwood鈥檚 flick about a retired blue collar worker defending his beloved car and his racially changing neighborhood.

This attitude was best summarized by the city鈥檚 unofficial columnist laureate, Mitch Albom of the Detroit Free Press, in a famous piece for Sports Illustrated 肠补濒濒别诲,听鈥淭he Courage of Detroit.鈥�

We鈥檒l skip through the parts of the book about the church that鈥檚 hanging on, and the unassuming sports stars. You should read the whole thing, though 鈥� it鈥檚 a great piece of work. Mr. Albom is much more than a guy who wrote some book about angels.

But at the end the author goes to see 鈥淕ran Torino鈥� with a friend. The film was shot in Detroit, he notes, and Eastwood seemed to fit in fine during his time there. No one bothered him. He鈥檇 even visit the local hardware store for stuff.

The story is fairly predictable. But, Albom notes, the Michigan audience stayed in its seat, even after the movie ended. They stayed through the credits, and the closing music, until the very last scroll 鈥� a shot of cars driving down Detroit鈥檚 Jefferson Avenue.

鈥淭hree words appeared 鈥� MADE IN MICHIGAN鈥�, Albom writes. 鈥淎nd the whole place clapped. Just stood up and clapped. To hell with Depression. We鈥檙e gonna have a good year.鈥�