As Charles already pointed out, Clint Eastwood's Chrysler Superbowl ad seemed like a commercial for the Obama Administration. And conservatives are already punching back at Eastwood for it. Karl Rove was "offended" by the ad. (Mitt Romney, always ahead of the times, wrote his response to the ad back in 2008.) The backpedaling continues on National Review's The Corner blog, where Christian Schneider breaks out the snark:

It makes sense that Chrysler would want Clint Eastwood to narrate its “Halftime in America” Super Bowl ad; the stoic, gravelly 82-year-old actor exudes old-school charm. His mere presence harkens back to a pre-auto-bailout day when people paid for American cars by actually purchasing them, not by filling out their 1040EZ tax forms. (Although Eastwood represents modern America fairly well, too, as he has fathered seven children with five different women.)

I love when Schneider responds to Eastwood's claims that he's "seen a lot of tough eras, a lot of downturns in my life" with a dismissive "Huh?" Eastwood was born at the very beginning of the Great Depression, which was a pretty big downturn, I think, and he was a boy during World War II, which was kind of a tough era. But the best part, as always, is when the commenters get into the act:

Thanks a lot, Clint, for moving to the dark side. Apparently, at 82, he isn't as aware as he used to be and didn't realize there was an undercurrent of politics in the ad. I can't imagine any other reason why a guy who seems to want the best for this country - a guy who was once a Republican - would appear in a pro-union, pro-Democratic. pro-Obama ad.

Surprising to see Eastwood, a self-described libertarian, as spokesman for welfare queen Chrysler.

No one's going to hear the roar of anything if the auto industry keeps pushing tiny vehicles (the failed Fiat for example), some of which don't even have a combustion engine.

The man is a serial impregnater.

The ad was a hodge-podge of patriotic cliches and made absolutely no sense to me. "Yay us Americans" or...something. I came away vaguely annoyed by the whole thing.

Meanwhile, Chrysler's slogan is "imported from Detroit." What could possibly capture the signature Obama haughtiness any better? Yes, America, Detroit is the advance case of what Obama has in mind for the country. He said he wanted "fundamental transformation," and he meant it. He wants America to become a standard-issue Eurosclerocracy — as Detroit already has to the maximum amount possible short of secession. And, of course, secession is what would be LITERALLY required to make "imported from Detroit" a reality. Sometimes cleverness is not a net plus — especially when it causes a premature tip of the hand.

I was both shocked by Eastwood being part of the ad (I thought he had better principles), and disgusted by the message. How could it be "halftime" for Chrysler when they got bailed out before? And, yes, the entire thing sounded like a friggin' campaign commercial for The Lord of the Autos.

What's so treacherous about these "feel good" ads is that most folks are unaware they're being manipulated because the messenger is someone they trust, someone they don't expect to be a handmaiden of the Democratic Party.

Speaking of the Democratic Party, I think this ad is relevant: