Game Change

This 2012 Movie adapted from the Halperin and Heilman book of the same name opened to rave reviews as it aired on HBO earlier this month.

The book told the story of the 2008 Presidential campaign while the movie predominantly focuses on the Republican side. As the Republican candidate John McCain approaches his Republican convention his staff is aware of how badly he is trailing. They determine that McCain's preferred pick Senator Joe Lieberman will alienate the base, and that none of the other candidates will do anything to provide excitement. It is resolved to find a woman candidate but the list of Christine Todd Whitman and Kay Bailey Hutchinson is dispensed with quickly as too boring or worse yet pro choice.

Into this breach steps Sarah Palin. Viewing a videotape of her she appears to be a star. Attractive, a good speaker, and with a fire that shows itself easily Steve Schmight, McCain's campaign manager is smitten. With the convention only five days away the process of vetting Palin is started.

With an admittedly less than thorough job completed McCain is told there is nothing found that precludes Palin from being the nominee.

Now when watching a movie like this, based on an insider book one has to wonder how much is true, how much is conjecture, and how much is just axes being ground. Still Schmight and the Wallace's who worked on McCain and especially Nicole Wallace with Sarah Palin are still in the game. Being vindictive and untruthful would keep them from future jobs.

Palin emerges from her Convention speech in great shape. Soon however the truth of how unprepared she is to be President or even Vice President is apparent. From thinking the Queen of England is the head of foreign policy for Great Britian to the Katie Couric interview and many other missing pieces of information in her brain Palin is shown to unprepared.

What also becomes apparent however is that Palin is also to be felt sorry for. After all it was she as first term Governor in Alaska who was approached. She did not seek it out. She was not vetted correctly, as the McCain team fell in love with the possibilities of a Game Changing move. Palin makes the mistake of being an everyman and everywoman running for President when the truth of it is that we really do need so much more.

McCain is shown to be a very conflicted figure and perhaps an example of what is wrong with politics today. An honorable man he wants to run a campaign to be proud of. He will not use Senator Obama's association with the controversial Minister Wright to his advantage but does allow in the end the use of his association with former radical and accused domestic terrorist William Ayers. The hate and discontent this stirs up on the campaign trail, the jingoism, and racism unleashed makes McCain noticably uncomfortable. Finally when an older white woman tells him she does not trust Obama, that he is an Arab he takes the microphone away from her and tells her that she is wrong. Obama is not a bad man, that he is a good family man and that McCain only happens to have significant policy differences with him but that Americans should not be fearful of him.

McCain regains his center and from there is on his way to defeat. Even on election night when Palin prepares her own concession speech until being shut down forcefully by Steve Schmight it is clear that she does not get it. What she does understand however is the fervor and unmitigated admiration she has gained from those on the far right, and the anti intellectual tea party. Only in America it would seem would a candidate's inability to know basic facts be seen as a plus.

The acting in this movie is first rate. Ed Harris is very good as John McCain. Julianne Moore is a doppleganger of Palin. In interviews as Moore made the rounds promoting the movie she told about how she studied all of Palin's speeches and films to pick up not just her speaking style and accent but her mannerisms and ticks. it worked. Moore is great. Still the most incredible performance, the one you remember most is Woody Harrelson as Steve Schmight. Harrelson is often an underrated actor but in this role he shines so brighly you need sunglasses. As Schmight the experienced pol who soon realizes he has made a horrible mistake in leading the charge to choose Palin he is conflicted between his loyalty to McCain, his belief in the process, and his shame at what Palin is and is not.

As this movie ends Schmight tells Nicole Wallace no one will remmeber Sarah Palin two weeks after the election. He as noticably wrong but thankfully it is well apparent that Palin is nothing more than a pretty face on the lunatic right. She will never run for office again on a national ticket. Even she knows what she is and is not. She is the Kim Khardasian of the far right. She does not how she got where she is but she is going to milk it for all it's worth.

This is a great movie.