…So Goes The Nation (Political Documentary/Genius/IFC)
Picture:
C+ Sound: C+ Extras: B- Documentary: B
The 2000
U.S. Presidential Election was one debacle and continues to be controversial,
but the 2004 election was another. Some
accuse the Republicans of stealing the election again, but the James D.
Stern/Adam Del Deo documentary …So Goes
The Nation (2006) examines the dirty politics on both sides and makes us
question both how broken the electoral system is and how much dirty politicking
goes on that is censored.
Since
this arrived on DVD, Rolling Stone
Magazine featured a series of articles (by a member of the Kennedy Family
no less) on how the Republicans stole the election again and robbed victory
from John Kerry. As much as I wanted to
believe that and acknowledge that the Republicans would do anything to win,
this program shows how both sides were fighting for victory.
Even if I
agreed with everything the articles said, there is one fact that remains that
even this program may have missed. Kerry
had plenty of money left to spend and instead of spending it, listened to an
advisor who said Ohio was taken care of, was fine and holding steady. When the lives of soldiers overseas and
people worldwide are in the balance and Kerry is supposed to stand for what he
objected to in Vietnam, why did he ever even listen to this person or ask the
question to begin with is astonishing.
If it only took a football stadium full of people to give him victory,
he should have gone for broke. Instead,
he failed himself, his party, the U.S. and has himself to blame as much as
anyone for his loss.
See this
program yourself and see what you think.
The
letterboxed 1.78 X 1 image has good color, but some aliasing and detail
limits. However, it is well edited and
watchable. The Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo
is also fine, but nothing spectacular and has no surrounds. The combination delivers for a documentary. There is only one extra, but it is a good
one: audio commentary by co-directors Stern and Del Deo. The result is another must-see political
documentary.
- Nicholas Sheffo
