A top adviser for Mitt Romney's failed presidential bid weighed in on some of the campaign's low moments, pointing to Clint Eastwood's unexpected monologue, the '47%' comments and Superstorm Sandy as three challenges for Romney's team in the final months of the campaign.

In an interview with PBS' Charlie Rose, Stuart Stevens said Wednesday that Eastwood's now-famous skit at the Republican National Convention was a divergence from what the actor had originally planned to say.

"We had very specific things that he was supposed to say that he had said in front of us before," Stevens aid. "He did this improv that had never been discussed."

He later added: "To a degree it was a distraction, it was bad."

During his RNC appearance, Eastwood spoke to an empty chair as if President Barack Obama were sitting in it. His performance was described as random and out of rhythm with the convention, though it drew laughs from the roaring audience.

"What do you want me to tell Romney?" Eastwood asked the empty chair. "I can't tell him to do that to himself."

Stevens gave a different interpretation last week when he spoke during a symposium with Obama campaign officials at Harvard University's Institute of Politics. "I don't think it was a big deal," he said.

Romney strategist Russ Schriefer, who helped organize the convention, told the panel the Eastwood appearance was a "pretty good opportunity" because he was "one of the biggest iconic stars" who never had made an appearance at a political convention.

When asked if anyone read Eastwood's remarks, Schriefer said the actor was supposed to say what he previously had told two fundraiser events.

During the event, co-moderated by CNN Chief Political Analyst Gloria Borger, Schriefer said he had asked Eastwood whether he was going to repeat those remarks and Eastwood responded: "yup."