Politics of Clint Eastwood's empty chair

(CNN) -- Clint Eastwood's rambling speech to an empty chair in Tampa, Florida, was more than just awkward performance art on a political stage. It actually provided a useful metaphor for one of the most nauseating aspects of this presidential election -- the growing gap between narrative and facts. One of my favorite quotes is by the late, great Sen. Daniel Patrick Moynihan: "Everyone is entitled to their own opinion, but not their own facts." But because of the rise of partisan media, amplified by the echo chamber of the Internet and talk radio, today everyone comes to civic debates armed with their own facts. John Avlon John Avlon And so civic debates get debased, becoming more intense but more incoherent. The Politics of the Empty Chair allows narratives to take the place of facts and usher in an essentially fictitious debate, inspiring monologues that feel like dialogues. It's the political equivalent of shadowboxing, intellectual combat with a fear-fueled misrepresentation of your opponent. The funniest comment about Eastwood's performance came via Twitter from Nation writer Jamelle Bouie: "This is a perfect representation of the campaign: An old white man arguing with an imaginary Barack Obama."