Yesterday, it was Fiat-Chrysler marketing chief Olivier Francois and Chrysler/Lancia COO Saad Chehab defending Chrysler’s widely praised “Halftime in America” ad that ran in last Sunday’s Super Bowl XLVI.
“The politicians can see political messages wherever they want, but we are not politicians,” Francois said in Chicago.
Talking about the actual intent of the spot, which featured actor Clint Eastwood, Francois added, “It’s all about uniting. There is nothing more neutral and nothing more universal.”
Chehab was more to the point: “If being proud of America is political thing, then so be it.”
Since Rush Limbaugh and Karl Rove created a furor by making a political mountain out of a nonexistent molehill, the response has been massive; far more massive than either Limbaugh or Rove deserve. Before Francois and Chehab spoke, Fiat-Chrysler CEO Sergio Marchionne went on a Detroit-area radio show, Eastwood appeared on the “O’Reilly Factor” and the Chrysler National Dealers Council issued a statement supporting the ad and denying there was any “payback” to the Obama Administration involved. The head of the Michigan Republican Party and even Newt Gingrich said they thought the ad was positive and not politically motivated.
Limbaugh and Rove either know, or should know, the truth about Chrysler Group LLC’s repayment of its debts to the U.S. or Canadian governments. They also should know that the outstanding loan was not made to Chrysler Group, but to its predecessor and was combined with that Chrysler’s other debts in the Old Carco liquidation. Since Chrysler Group is no longer in debt to the government, it is, therefore, complete nonsense claim the ad was funded with taxpayer money.
Enough is enough: Nobody else from Chrysler, Fiat or Weiden + Kennedy owes anyone any more explanations or statements. “Halftime in America” is a message of unity and optimism that’s being derided by the high priests of division and, as Spiro Agnew put it, “the nattering nabobs of negativity.”
It’s time to accept that either Limbaugh and Rove don’t know what they are talking about or that they’re lying. Either way, they owe a very public apology to a lot of people, including Clint Eastwood and the people of Chrysler.
