Review of Boogie Man: The Lee Atwater Story (2008) by Roy S — 26 Jan 2014

To some an evil genius, to some a complicated genius. This doc comes down more on the former, but does show through a great many interviews that he was a very complex man. I think perhaps too much credit (or blame, depending on your point of view) is given to Atwater, Rove, and so on.

By ignoring how "real" issues also motivate voters docs play into the same cynicism they accuse those on the Right of dwelling on in their campaigns. The Left of course are a bunch of choirboys who get rolled with dirty tricks that have never, ever been seen in American politics, or so the narrative seems to go.

Still, I enjoy presidential campaigns so much that I enjoy these docs in spite of their flaws.