GAME CHANGE (Review and Thoughts)...

[vaberella]

I'm totally late to the review but I have shit connection where I am and had to watch this while at work. It's currently 9:18 pm on Monday evening and I live about 2 hours away from where I am working. Oy...

Before I begin can I just say we totally need a political film thread just independent of here. I don't think the Entertainment section is sufficient enough.

Anyway I really enjoyed Game Change. I didn't know all the names of the players in the McCain camp as I did after this film. I was fare more informed on Obama's team. In any event I thought the acting was great by everyone. I felt really bad for the girl Nicole Wallace...and normally no conservative woman can bring out any sympathy in me, but then I understanding believing in something sincerely and seeing it fall apart before your eyes does break your heart so did make me shed a tear.

As for Schmidt. I actually liked him and felt really bad (Woody Harrelson really brings that out of me) for him as well---it was obviously this was never about the country for him or any of these people (except maybe Wallace and Salter) it was about the win. I blame the entire team for Palin. Not one person except for Mark Salter seemed to sincerely be worried about her being a viable choice. I could have seen how Lieberman was a problem but Pawlenty was a good choice, although I would have to agree with Schmidt and Davis----the campaign would have lost, anyway.

But this frightening woman was put forth. I'm a bit concerned...how most of the conservative people were actually not more concerned witht the fact they had an unstable person on their ticket. Let me be clear here...I understood her actions and reactions to things, her emotions were actually normal for me. But as for person who is running for Veep and could be President---her reactions were unstable because I fear how she would act when under true scrutiny and real Presidential problems.

This is exactly why I have a deep dislike for Colin Powell. Rather than speaking out during the 2004 campaign as he should have, as a good American. He let loyalty and whatever else supercede what was best for the country. He was and I still believe the one man that both Republicans and Democrats listen too and let his own loyalty to Bush take over his loyalty for his nation. Same here where these men and women let their loyalties for McCain supercede what was best for the nation.

I'm happy they lost and it's clearly apparent based on this film that there were some whistleblowers out there who were ready to sabotage the campaign because of Palin...but seriously this woman was unhinged and could have been given the ultimate power. To this day there are Americans who are devoted to her. I have a close friend of mine who is devoted to this woman. Yes, devoted. We got into a screaming match on the RER B in France over his adoration of Palin and my obsession with Obama (based on his views of all liberals).

I don't think this films pulls any punches. I think everyone was at fault and everyone was very self absorbed. I think this shows the complexities of human nature but also that of American politics and the volatile, vitriolic nature of our political campaigns. There were times I felt for Palin.

I have to say, I take a step back from suggesting she's unstable. I think the environment she was in is unhealthy. I believe that she was thrust into world that she knew nothing about. She is not a politician, not big leagues style---she's a house mom without much interests outside her home life and local politics with great looks. I think she was in over her head and she was feeling overwhelmed. I think we need to take that into consideration. Education isn't great in all parts of the world and she was obviously not very bright when it came to politics. I think here we have someone who was out of her depth intellectually and just socially.

I'm sure for many of the American people; they love below average intellect; I'd personally refrain from that for high level positions and this is what I really fault the team for. They are not giving someone capable this position as Vice President, regardless of her mental state. I think her mental lapses are actually norma when I think more about it. In actuality when you pay attention to everything she did--- reaction wise it's very normal and very healthy.

We're dealing with someone taken from her safe cocoon of "average people," ---where she's a rock star and brought into the world of political warfare. She's socially and intellectually inept...dare I say impotent to truly compete and participate with the big wigs. Hillary Clinton would have eaten her alive.

I give it a 8/10---I would have also liked more on the rallies and the issue of race that was thrust into the campaign. But we could always leave that for a Clinton or Obama 2008 campaign film.

Now I need to do a review for J. Edgar Hoover---that film made me cry too.

[Old and In the Way]

1. It says a lot about the typical Republican voter.

They've been buying image over substance since Ronald Reagan's election in 1980. Ron is their "gold standard" for Presidents...but anyone who really looks at his Presidency knows that it was an 8 year acting gig. Don Regan, Howard Baker, and Mike Deaver ran the show, Ron was there for the lines to deliver to the audience. Bush the Dimmer, of course, was lacking at all levels. Yet, in 2008, McCain's campaign people didn't hesitate in bringing Palin on as VP candidate. It was simple political calculus...she's going to shore up the base and attract a lot of women who vote Indie/Democrat. The 1st part was certainly true...the 2nd part obviously wasn't. The typical Republican voter doesn't care how smart their choice is...no surprise, given their anti-education/anti-science predilections...they just want their choice to reflect their ideas, no matter how moronic they may be in reality.

[vaberella]

2. Politicking at it's worst...You nailed it.

I have never seen anything like this. They miscalculated, thankfully on the American people at large. Yes, they took a bounce in their base and even got people who normally wouldn't vote turn into zealots entirely devoted to Palin...but whild doing so made her a dangerous candidate by and large. The Republican voters seemed made into puppets that you can buy a vote from based on looks and memorized lines. Not about substance. The McCain probably could have won that claim against Obama until they put Palin into the mix and made winning their ultimate goal and not the state or the care of the nation. I had to wonder if McCain was really part of the team at large and making decisions or just as puppeted as Palin was. Although, admittedly Palin went off script many times. I have to agree with you about Ronald Reagan. My mums a Republican, but she's been voting Dem since Clinton (she LOVES Clinton--not too fond of Obama but still supports him); if you were to ask her who her favorite President is she would say Ronald Reagan and she adores him. More so than Clinton. She would even deny the economy was bad during Reagan. When I told her how he ruined our economy during his Presidency she would deny it. She's blind to him. However there is no doubt he was an actor playing lines. Well he was always an actor---his best role was just President--- since he fooled millions.

I need to read more insider novels on the campaigns....this shit is amazing.

[avebury]

3. If you read the book that the movie was based upon you can see the

difference between democratic and republican operatives. Palin was a train wreck and they wanted to win the White House so bad that they treated Palin like an actress and most of them had not problem getting her elected VP if that was what it took to get McCain elected. On the Democratic side, Edwards was the train wreck and some of his people actually thought about deep sixing his campaign to get him off the train track because they knew he was a disaster.

[graywarrior]

4. As it was broadcasted, I wondered if our Alaskan Sweetheart was curled up in fetal position

sucking her thumb or ranting and raving and throwing phones agains the wall.

[ellisonz]

5. I thought it was hilarious.

Too try and play the game and yet fail so badly - let's hope they keep her front and center.

[CreekDog]

6. It was just a matter of time that they choose a candidate that didn't know anything

actually believing the Republican platform anymore requires some level of ignorance, and conservative positions, even more so.

[Liberal_Stalwart71]

7. It bothers me that the movie failed to cover two issues...

1. The impact that race and bigotry had on the campaign with Palin at the helm.

and

2. McCain's temper. We didn't see it hardly. He was made out to be a very sympathetic figure, but even he went only with the Ayers-Wright fiasco in the end. He had nothing to say about his negative ads, even when Obama confronted him during the debates about the negative ads and about the rallies where people were shouting racial epitaphs and "kill him!" McCain failed to tamp it down. He allowed Palin to do the dirty work.

[Jennicut]

8. I just watched it this morning. She was way in over her head and McCain was detached.

Very insulated. And at times I felt for her daughter Bristol. No teen wants to be talked about all over tv like that. But I found Palin exhausting. I don't agree with their politics but Schmidt and Nicole Wallace tried their hardest to get through to her. She was not intelligent enough, stable enough and really aware enough to conduct herself properly in a major campaign. Ultimately it was John McCain's mistake and decision to pick her and he just never seemed involved enough to now what was going on. Perhaps he was just too old to handle a major campaign himself.

[davidpdx]

11. Schmidt made a huge error pushing Palin

Had they picked someone else, the election might have been closer. Wallace, despite her admiration for Palin in the beginning seem to hate her a few weeks after working with her. I don't blame her either. I agree that McCain was in over his head, but they also ran a piss poor campaign in general. After getting the nomination in March, they didn't really make that much progress between then and the convention. It was like a buggy with no horses. Lieberman came up a few times for VP and seem to get dismissed as too liberal (which clearly isn't true). The problem is Lieberman is no spring chicken either he would have been 64. Two old white guys on the ticket would have not played well either.

As someone else said, two things that were missed were McCain's temper and the bigotry factor. They seemed to go out of their way to make McCain seem even tempered. On the bigotry factor, there were a few scenes where people were chanting nasty stuff and then the scene with the women calling him a Muslim and McCain trying to correct her.

Overall the film seemed to me to focus more on Palin's actions and behaviors then McCain's.

[Mr Dixon]

9. WOW

I got around to watching it yesterday and I must say it was a great film, and IMO it confirms that this woman is missing a few screws. Not hard feeling for McCain I applaud his efforts, but to put this woman in office would have been a disaster.

[CraftyGal]

10. I have yet to see the whole thing, but the parts I did see were disconcerting to say the least.

I suspected that she was dealing with post-partum depression or even psychosis. The hunger strikes, the crying jags the temper are all manifestations of it. I went through severe post-partum depression with 2 of my children, finally had to go onton meds to even everything out. It took 2-3 yrs for that to happen.

CraftyGal

[IndyJones]

13. I thought that, too, while watching the movie. She seemed unreasonable at times and she seemed to

have a difficult time focusing on one issue at a time. If that's true, then I wonder if post partum depression played into it. That, coupled with not eating well would have made her act unreasonable. I can't hardly stand hearing her speak, but she seemed to do good things for her state when she was governor. Too bad she didn't stick with that gig.

[musicblind]

12. I think the movie was excellent and

given that the book shows all participants in the race in varying shades of grey... it feels pretty unbiased.

I have to agree. a solid 8 our of 10... maybe even an 8.5.