Eastwood: If DC Doesn't 'Give A Damn,' How Can We?

Hollywood legend and Republican supporter Clint Eastwood told CNBC that Washington gridlock is sending the nation racing towards another contentious debt deadline. "It's almost like they don't give a damn," he said, in a "Squawk Box" interview that aired Friday. The Oscar-winning director who's also known for his tough-guy roles asked rhetorically, "If they don't give a damn, why did they expect anybody else to?" With the deal to avoid the "fiscal cliff" barely in the rearview mirror, President Barack Obama and Republican leaders are on the clock again, scrambling to compromise on a package to replace the already-postponed automatic government spending cuts due to kick-in next month. Eastwood described it as "very disappointing" that so little has been accomplished. "The election's over. We should be moving ahead. The leaders aren't stepping up," and he said, "I think they have to hear from the public out there. And maybe the public is a little lackadaisical." He was thrust into the political spotlight of the 2012 presidential election — first with the "Halftime in America" Super Bowl commercial he did that year for Chrysler; and then over the summer at the Republican National Convention with the now infamous "empty chair" bit.