The debate continues -- as celebrity debates tend to go on and on these days -- about whether Clint Eastwood's Super Bowl halftime ad for Chrysler was designed in part as a plug for President Obama and his 2012 economic strategy. The debate continues — as celebrity debates tend to go on and on these days — about whether Clint Eastwood’s Super Bowl halftime ad for Chrysler was designed in part as a plug for President Obama and his 2012 economic strategy.Clint Eastwood Super Bowl Ad: It’s Halftime, AmericaCertainly, the ad presented an encouraging picture of the U.S. economy, and the auto industry’s growing strength — features that would favor the White House, which orchestrated the bailouts of Chrysler and General Motors. (GM’s own Monday morning quarterback was CFO Daniel Ammann, rather than a celebrity spokesman, making similarly positive comments about earnings prospects and job growth in a remarkable Page One Wall Street Journal interview.)On the Eastwood debate, some conservative critics are going after him for siding with the Obama administration. Then again, several media outlets make a point of noting how Eastwood himself, a rather steady Republican voter, had opposed auto bailouts — once in this interview given to a Los Angeles Times reporter last year. It’s a wonderful story, by the way, definitely worth a read in light of the Super Bowl ad, and the controversy. And what did the actor-director himself say about the Super Bowl ad’s intent? Oh, yeah; that should be part of the picture, shouldn’t it? “l am certainly not politically affiliated with Mr. Obama,” he was quoted as saying in an L.A. Times article this morning. “It was meant to be a message just about job growth and the spirit of America. I think all politicians will agree with it. I thought the spirit was OK. I am not supporting any politician.”Meanwhile, we should get ready for the varying pictures that will be painted to depict the 2012 economy — and the American auto industry’s role in it — as November approaches. Related content brandpost Sponsored by SAP Generative AI’s ‘show me the money’ moment We’re past the hype and slick gen AI sales pitches. Business leaders want results. By Julia White Nov 30, 2023 5 mins Artificial Intelligence brandpost Sponsored by Zscaler How customers capture real economic value with zero trust Unleashing economic value: Zscaler's Zero Trust Exchange transforms security architecture while cutting costs. By Zscaler Nov 30, 2023 4 mins Security brandpost Sponsored by SAP A cloud-based solution to rescue millions from energy poverty Aware of the correlation between energy and financial poverty, Savannah Energy is helping to generate clean, competitively priced electricity across Africa by integrating its old systems into one cloud-based platform. By Keith E. Greenberg, SAP Contributor Nov 30, 2023 5 mins Digital Transformation feature 8 change management questions every IT leader must answer Designed to speed adoption and achieve business outcomes, change management hasn’t historically been a strength of IT orgs. It’s time to flip that script by asking hard questions to hone change strategies. By Stephanie Overby Nov 30, 2023 10 mins Change Management Change Management IT Operations Podcasts Videos Resources Events SUBSCRIBE TO OUR NEWSLETTER From our editors straight to your inbox Get started by entering your email address below. Please enter a valid email address Subscribe