CHARLOTTE, N.C. — An assortment of Hollywood heavyweights took to the stage Thursday, the last night of the Democratic National Convention, to sing, rock and speak about their support for President Obama.
With a guitar in hand, James Taylor — the first musical act to appear — was about to begin playing “Carolina in my Mind” in front of a chair onstage when he quipped, “I know it’s an empty chair — makes you nervous, doesn’t it?” before sitting down.
The crack referenced Clint Eastwood's now-infamous speech in which he argued with an invisible President Obama in an empty seat a week earlier at the Republican National Convention in Tampa, Fla.
Taylor, 64, then said to laughs from the audience at the Time Warner Cable Arena, “I’ve been watching the coverage and ... I don’t get it. I mean, I’m an old white guy, and I love Barack Obama.”
As the singer began strumming his 1975 cover hit, “How Sweet It Is (To Be Loved By You,)” Democratic Reps. Sheila Jackson Lee (Texas) and Jan Schakowsky (Ill.), together in the Texas delegation section, kicked up their heels to dance along to the music.
For more on Thursday night's DNC celebrities, click here.
