Clint Eastwood Defends Super Bowl Ad As Non-Political

After being the subject of political debate, Clint Eastwood defended his halftime Super Bowl ad for Chrysler, which many construed as a subtle pro-Obama campaign commercial.

"This country can't be knocked out in one punch," Eastwood says at the end of the commercial, after touting the efforts of the auto industry in Detroit and specifically Chrysler, a company that was famously saved in Obama's 2009 auto bailout plan. "We get right back up again, and when we do the world's gonna hear the roar of our engines," Eastwood continued in the ad. "Yeah. It's halftime, America. And our second half is about to begin."

Now Eastwood is addressing speculation that he might have been endorsing the President's campaign in the commercial. "I am certainly not politically affiliated with Mr. Obama," libertarian Eastwood, who is no stranger to voting on the Republican ticket, said Monday on Fox's The O'Reilly Factor. The commercial, Eastwood maintains, "was meant to be a message about job growth and the spirit of America. I think all politicians will agree with it."

The J. Edgar director, who declared that he was "not supporting any politician at this time," but that he thought the "spirit" of the ad was a good one and should be up for grabs. "If Obama or any other politician wants to run with the spirit of that ad, go for it," he clarified.

Watch the ad again here:

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