The Romney campaign is defending Clint Eastwood’s Thursday night’s baffling endorsement of the one-time Massachusetts governor at the Republican National Convention, insisting that the actor “spoke from the heart with a classic improv sketch which everyone at the convention loved.” Eastwood has been widely criticized for talking to an empty chair with an “invisible Obama,” during his 10 minute address. (Watch ThinkProgress’ highlight reel here.)

“[It was] an honor that a great American icon would come and talk about the failure of the current president and the promise of the future one,” senior aide Stuart Stevens, one of two advisers to clear Eastwood’s appearance, insisted to the New York Times. On Friday morning, Romney’s wife Ann also came to the actor’s defense, telling CBS, “He’s a unique guy and he did a unique thing last night.”

The effort to justify Eastwood’s rantings did not stop there. During an appearance on MSNBC, Romney adviser Tara Wall even sought to connect the actor’s critique to the campaign’s official message, explaining that the empty chair that was supposed to seat Obama symbolized the president’s failed policies:

WALL: The chair emphasized, I think what many Americans are asking themselves four years later, where is President Obama relative to his promises made and promises not kept. So I think that that was pretty descriptive of the fact that president Obama four years ago said we would be at 6 percent unemployment if we enacted what he believed were his policies that would work.

Watch it:

The Romney campaign provided Eastwood with talking points, but did not equip him with prepared remarks. “They simply turned the podium over to an iconic superstar and expected him to stand and deliver.”

Our guest blogger is Jack Jenkins, researcher for the Faith and Progressive Policy Initiative at the Center for American Progress.

Vice Presidential candidate Rep. Paul Ryan might have appealed to religion during his speech at the Republican National Convention last night, but it’s unclear whether a Romney-Ryan presidency would help or hurt faith-based charities and churches.

Ryan, a Catholic, spoke to the convention delegates about the common “moral creed” shared himself and Romney’s Mormon faith. Ryan appeared to echo Jesus’ Biblical call to take care of “the least of these,” saying, “And the greatest of all responsibilities, is that of the strong to protect the weak. The truest measure of any society is how it treats those who cannot defend or care for themselves.”

But if you peel back the rhetoric, would a Romney-Ryan presidency really help churches and faith groups “protect the weak”?

Ryan has said local charities and churches should provide for needy communities instead of the federal government. But there is a flaw this plan: churches and faith-based charities, which offer roughly $50 billion worth of services a year to the poor and needy, often depend on government funds to operate. Catholic Charities, for example, is one of the largest charities in America, and gets over half of its operating budget from federal funds.

Yet the Romney/Ryan ticket appears undeterred by this reality. In fact, if Romney followed through on Ryan’s proposed budget and cut the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) by $169 billion, every single church in America would have to come up with an additional $50,000 simply to feed those in need. For many cash-strapped churches, this is an impossible task.

What’s more, the Romney/Ryan budget would likely overburden soup kitchens and food programs by cutting welfare, food stamps and agriculture subsidies by two trillion dollars over the next ten years. These cuts would leave millions of Americans – especially those most in need of assistance – without the means to feed and clothe themselves, and already-overburdened faith-based charities unable to provide for them.

So if congregations and charities can’t provide the care required and Ryan’s government refuses to help, who exactly is the “strong” tasked with stepping in for the “weak”? Ryan isn’t saying.

Ryan and other conservative commentators like Gov. Mike Huckabee talk a lot about how they believe faith is under attack in America. But if Ryan truly believes a society is best judged by “how it treats those who cannot defend or care for themselves,” then perhaps he should take a second look at how his own policy proposals negatively affect those doing the hard work of caring for the poor — churches and faith-based charities.

Mitt Romney is focused on convincing Americans that his private-sector business record qualifies him to be President, which is perhaps why he accidentally called the United States of America a “company” instead of a “country” on Friday.

While Romney has spoken extensively about running the government more efficiently, like a private business, he has never compared the entire American enterprise to an actual business enterprise. But today, at an event in Florida, Romney did just that, saying his administration will reach out to people who “want to make sure this company deals with its challenges”:

Paul Ryan and I understand how the economy works, we understand how Washington works, we will reach across the aisle and find good people who like us, want to make sure this company deals with its challenges. We’ll get America on track again.

Watch it:

The goal of a company is to make money, whereas the goal of a government is to provide services that are not achievable in the private sector. Romney’s belief that the government is similar to a company explains his dedication to cutting programs that he perceives are “inefficient” because they cost money, even if they effectively help American citizens.

Mitt Romney, who did not mention immigration issues during Thursday night’s nationally televised address, was heckled on Friday by DREAM Act activists during his “Farewell Victory Rally” in Lakeland Florida. “DREAM Act for fully equality,” they chanted, as Romney introduced his campaign’s officials and the crowd responded with, “USA! USA! USA!.” Watch it:

During the GOP presidential primary, Romney said he would have vetoed the measure. In one Florida debate, he also accused Governor Rick Perry (R-TX) of engendering a “magnet” in Texas by allowing the children of illegal immigrants to pay in-state tuition.

On Friday, Fox & Friends asked Ann Romney if it was difficult for the couple to turn down a $30 million job offer after Mitt lost the 2008 presidential nomination. Ann, who has been trying to help her husband connect with middle class voters, replied that such job opportunities are commonplace for the former governor and CEO:

BRIAN KILMEADE (HOST): The report is after Mitt Romney lost to John McCain for the nomination, he got an offer from a fund, $30 million a year, go back into the financial world, have all types of success. How hard was the decision not to do that?

ROMNEY: Well, we’re used to kind of passing offers up like that. For us, our life is not about making money. We’ve been very blessed financially. Our life is now about giving back. I always trust that Mitt can always make another dollar. Poor guy, he took no pay when he did the Olympics for three years and no pay when he was governor for four years.

Watch it:

Though she’s acknowledged they have been “blessed financially,” Romney has been working hard this week to prove the couple’s empathy with middle class families. In her convention speech, Romney included herself among the nation’s struggling moms, declaring “We don’t want easy,” but lamented “that price at the pump you just can’t believe, the grocery bills that just get bigger; all those things that used to be free, like school sports, are now one more bill to pay.” In both her convention speech and on Fox and Friends Friday morning, she emphasized the couple’s poorer days in college, when they lived in a basement and “ate a lot of pasta and tuna fish.”

But the Romneys have had trouble selling this story to the public, often making casual remarks that bely their lack of common ground with middle class voters. In past interviews, Ann has explained they got through these hard student days by selling off a little of Mitt’s stock, a birthday president from his father, former Governor George Romney, after he took over American Motors.

Here are a few other ways Ann has addressed the couple’s wealth:

• “I don’t even consider myself wealthy, which is an interesting thing.” [Fox News, 3/5/12]
• “Remember, we’d been paying $62 a month rent, but here, rents were $ 400, and for a dump. This is when we took the now-famous loan that Mitt talks about from his father and bought a $42,000 home in Belmont, and you know? The mortgage payment was less than rent.” [Boston Globe, 10/20/94]
• “I love the fact that there are women out there who don’t have a choice and they must go to work and they still have to raise the kids.” [Prescott Bush Awards Dinner, 4/24/12]
• “We’ve given all you people need to know and understand about our financial situation and how we live our life.” [ABC News, 7/19/12]

During a trip to Epcot at Disneyworld, Pennsylvania delegate Mark Harris and his wife were shocked and offended to find a Mexican employee working at the amusement park’s American pavilion, which showcases the different cultures in the United States. According to the couple’s blog, Harris complained to staff that he was “highly offended” that a “person from Mexico” was working in the American pavilion when other nations’ pavilions were staffed by people from each respective country:

The local GOP in Snyder County, Pennsylvania has rushed to disavow Harris’ overtly racist comments. County Commissioner Malcolm Derk told The Daily Item, “Americans are people of any race, color or heritage. Cheers to the individual working at Epcot for showing what a true American looks like.”

According to their website, “Mark and Irene are both pro‐life, believe marriage is between one man and one woman, are for open records and transparency, believe in very conservative principles and the Republican platform.”

The RNC has been marred by racist incidents this week; on Tuesday, two delegates had to be escorted out after throwing peanuts at a black camerawoman and called her an “animal.” Harris told the AP at the beginning of the convention that he liked how Romney was “hitting all the conservative bells” and “has the potential to be a great president if he keeps going in that direction.”