Ron Howard's Call to Action

"Ron Howard's Call to Action" was a short that Ron Howard made leading up to the 2008 election. He gets into his Opie Taylor and Richie Cunningham personae to meet with Andy Taylor (Andy Griffith) and the Fonz (Henry Winkler) and encourage them to vote for Barack Obama.

OK, so it's a little hokey. Especially since our national elation after that election has given way to a feeling that Obama hasn't done what most people hoped for. At least Howard was encouraging people to vote. I personally would have liked to see the Fonz meet Andy (or would Andy have arrested Fonzie?).

Whatever. It's not a bad short, just sort of silly.

Another clueless Hollywood elitist try-hard without the self-awareness to be embarrassed for himself.

The same goes for Henry Winkler, whose acting career was so far in the rear-view mirror you'd think he would have just left it in dignified silence rather than clambering on-board to support the ultra-divisive Obama.

Andy Griffith had a reputation for being a hard leftist if not an outright communist. Anecdotes paint him as a nasty so-and-so in real life, although I did hear a rather touching story about the guy who played Floyd the barber, when the actor was terminally ill Griffith was very accommodating and protective toward him and wanted to ensure he was given work (which the actor desired) as long as possible.