I expected this documentary to lean left. I expected it to show all of Lee Atwater's warts. I expected it to shine a harsh light on the dirty campaign tactics that define modern politics. However, I wasn't prepared for the severe leftward tilt of its content. Goodness, if only we had known how angelic Michael Dukakis was, we wouldn't have elected him president, we would have proclaimed him pope! Viewing this film it becomes obvious that his political views and poor campaign had absolutely nothing to do with his landslide defeat. It was all because of that awful man from South Carolina and the millions of sheep who were tricked into voting for the vice president! It's a shame there couldn't have been more balance instead of a litany of complaints from defeated opponents and a condemnation of many of the same tactics used by Democrats. I would have preferred a more rounded look at the man and of politics in general, where both sides have committed their share of bashing, scheming and pandering.

First off, this wasn't an entirely bad movie. I found it to be an interesting look into Lee Atwater and his life. It also shows his strong impact upon the Republican Party. Additionally, we get to see how Atwater's tactics may have helped play a role in Bush, Sr.'s defeat of Dukakis back in 1988.However, this movie is yellow journalism at its finest. The director falsely portrays Atwater as a one-dimensional, evil genius (who became evil because of a tragic incident involving the death of his little brother) who was the godfather of dirty mudslinging politics as we know it, and who had nothing redeeming about him. Dirty politics have always been around, and with some comprehensive reading, it becomes obvious that Atwater was not the one who started dirty politics. Also, the film makes it seem like everyone around him was a hapless, stupid puppet who quickly became a servant (or a victim) of the godfather Atwater and his evil empire. Additionally, the only characters who appear human in this video are, of course, Atwater's Democratic and Republican political rivals, while everyone else was just puppeted by Atwater. And surely, Atwater didn't just join the GOP just because he had no competition. He would certainly have to have agreed with at least some of what the GOP was saying, rather than just trying to do nothing except win all the time and be the one who controls the political "horse race".All in all, while this movie is interesting, it reaches very silly conclusions about Atwater as a person and his role in contemporary politics.

I'm not being sarcastic. I really did enjoy this film!I know this was supposed to be a political hit piece but much like antiwar movies, it makes the supposed subject of scorn seem pretty cool, while the Democrats end up looking like the principal on Ferris Bueller's Day Off.The truth is that Democrats bow at the alter of political correctness and can't stand people who don't and (especially ones from the north) can barely hold their contempt for Southerners. Lee Atwater was both politically incorrect and a southerner and that drove them all bonkers.They couldn't take away the fact that the complete waste of humanity, Willie Horton, really was one scary dude that actually committed the crimes for which he was convicted. For some strange reason, liberals cannot handle seeing any black person criticized for any reason, even rape and murder! To this viewer it appears that Atwater and his cronies judged Horton on the content of his character and told it like it is. He was a scary murderer who was let out on a weekend furlough, under a program supported by Dukakis. The accusations of racism look more like sour grapes to me.I especially liked the end where after his supposed conversion to liberalism and eventual death, that he never read his bible and wasn't really sorry. He did die an SOB after all!

Much of what is worst in American politics is on display in the career of Lee Atwater, a bogeyman for Democrats he put to the sword with underhand tactics both offensive and dishonest. Two interesting things emerge from this documentary: firstly, that far from being an ideologue, Atwater played the game for its own sake, with a ruthless cynicism so naked as to almost be disarming: sometimes it's easy to love an unashamed rogue, even if that rogue does more harm than a conventional hypocrite. Secondly, although Atwater died (of a brain tumour) in the early 1990s, in many ways, George W. Bush is Atwater's legacy; and indeed, Karl Rove was Atwater's protégé. Michael Dukakis, floored by Atwater's dirtiest campaign, is an interesting interviewee here: he comes across as naive in expecting anything better, and maybe that's the saddest aspect of the way that Atwater changed politics. It's probably mistaken to assign too much influence to one man; but it's also possible to fear that the demon of spin will never return to the box.