The War Room

The War Room

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DVD Reviews of The War Room

DVD Review: Amazing, but true.
Summary: 4 Stars

After viewing the film, I asked, "Is that all there is?" (to win a presidential campaign). But in all honesty, I laughed, cried and cheered as I watched the film, enjoying every minute, except the end where I wanted to see a close up of the Clintons and Gores as they celebrated their election night victory from the statehouse stage in Little Rock. The end of the film seemed anti-climatic. No hype. No hoopla. And, that's where I expected the "big bang" -- news reports, TV election returns, headlines the morning after and lots and lots of partying to Fleetwood Mac's "Don't Stop (Thinkin' About Tomorrow)."

While I appreciated being a fly on the wall inside campaign headquarters and on the road, at times I felt like I was watching a high school or college student government campaign -- with all the joking and silliness that pervaded "The War Room." Much of the campaign "work" didn't really look like work on film because of campaign staffers' attitudes and antics. They seemed to really have fun working on the campaign -- with many key staffers treating it as a game, albeit a game with very high stakes.

Only near the end of the film do director of communications George Stephanopoulos and master manipulator James Carville seem to grasp what they've accomplished. "We helped changed America!"

But seldom is seen or heard the National Democratic Party hierarchy -- the fund-raisers, the state committee chairmen, the state campaign directors, the local party leaders, the thousands of volunteers needed to help make a national campaign a success. Only at a few campaign events -- and, eventually at the Democratic National Convention, do viewers of "The War Room" see the magnitude of this campaign. But instead of debating national policy or issues, the Clinton campaign staff is concerned with how TV networks will depict the convention crowd. "Do we make hand-lettered signs or use printed signs?" someone asks in a staff meeting the night before Clinton is nominated.

I wondered during the national convention segment of "The War Room" if Bill Clinton had a running mate. How nice it would have been to see the inner workings of the selection process for choosing Al Gore as vice president. Thankfully, Gore was not totally excluded from the picture. His dynamic stump speech, "Up is down, down is up ..." was absolutely awesome, making me wish I had been an active participant of the 1992, 1996 and 2000 presidential campaigns.

Another memorable speech from "The War Room" is President Bush's whiny "I'm damn tired" speech. Never have I seen or heard President Bush so angry. Little good his anger did him or the country. While Bush was getting angry, Clinton was getting votes -- campaigning across the country with thousands of smiles and handshakes. How rewarding it was to see candidate Clinton go from a small campaign plane to a huge jet (similar to Air Force One), after earning his party's nomination and respect.

"The War Room" reminded me how indecisive and devisive candidates Ross Perot and Jerry Brown were in 1992. While Clinton's presidency may not have been appreciated by everyone, it's still frightening for me to think how close we came to having Perot or Brown elected president in '92.

If there are any negatives about "The War Room" it's that the film doesn't really spotlight Clinton's superior campaign skills, including his charisma and intellect. Clinton knows how to connect with people and he has an uncanny ability to know what people want.

Clinton is a master politician -- and, in 1992, his dream team of campaign strategists and media handlers molded a campaign that was unbeatable, changing the course of history.

"The War Room" shows how effective Carville and Stephanopoulos were more than a decade ago, functioning as political and media strategists at the top of their game. But candidate Clinton is only occasionally featured in the film, with wife Hillary and daughter Chelsea shown a few times here and there. I would have liked to have seen more of the Clintons behind the scenes on the campaign trail and in strategy sessions.

George Stephanopoulos' "All Too Human -- A Political Education," a 456-page memoir published in 1999, is a highly recommended read for anyone wanting more details on Clinton's campaigns and presidency -- a real insider's view.

The gritty realism of the day-to-day operation of campaign headquarters in Little Rock coupled with Carville and Stephanopoulos' comments every step of the way made the "you-are-there" feeling of "The War Room" very real and very personal. I particularly enjoyed the opening hotel room sequence featuring an extreme close-up of Gov. Clinton conducting a media interview by telephone, as campaign staffers read newspapers nearby.

The counter media attacks waged by the Clinton campaign created numerous interesting segments in the film. I especially enjoyed seeing Carville and Stephanopoulos deal with the issue of Clinton's character -- dodging the draft and dodging allegations of a 12-year affair with Gennifer Flowers. Seeing Flowers as the scorned woman conducting her own news conference for the national media (much more than sound bites), accompanied by a media handler shouting down a heckler who asked if Gov. Clinton used a condom, is both fascinating and unreal.

"How'd he do that?" one might ask after considering all the obstacles that Clinton overcame to be elected president of the U.S. twice. "The War Room" is a good place to start to learn how "Slick Willie" survived media battles every day of his campaign and presidency.

I highly recommend "The War Room" as a wonderful way to begin to understand Clinton's magic and mystique.

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