Romney aides: We were surprised by Eastwood. But pleasantly, because everything else was so boring.

Rumor has it that Mitt loved Clint's empty chair routine so much that now he wants to do it in the Caymans During Mitt Romney's speech last night, the Romney campaign sent out a statement tsk-tsking reporters asking questions about Clint Eastwood's bizarre empty chair routine. "Judging an American icon like Clint Eastwood through a typical political lens doesn't work," the statement read. "His ad libbing was a break from all the political speeches, and the crowd enjoyed it."

But later in the night, one Romney campaign aide admitted to the New York Times that Eastwood's routine wasn't what Romneyland had expected:

One Romney aide said that Mr. Eastwood had been booked months ago and that the expectation was that he would deliver a more standard endorsement, as he did earlier this year.

But another aide said that wasn't a bad thing:

Another aide tried gamely to find an upside, saying that the Eastwood appearance offered a moment of unpredictability in a convention that was otherwise surprise-free.

So, sure, we had no clue what the hell Eastwood was up to. But at least he wasn't boring and political like everyone else!