A 'Patton' on Political Strategy

Jason Pyles Movie Critic

There’s a movie currently playing in theaters called Definitely, Maybe whose lead character, Will Hayes (Ryan Reynolds), works as a staff member for Bill Clinton’s 1992 presidential campaign.

In one unbelievable scene, Will stands among his other Clinton cronies and calmly watches the televised confessional of Gennifer Flowers, a blonde bombshell who claimed to be Clinton’s lover of 12 years. Oddly, Will, a faithful follower, shrugs off the alleged revelation and proceeds forward with his diligent service.

This peculiar moment in Definitely, Maybe might have given me pause had I not seen The War Room (1993), a moderately interesting documentary that sporadically chronicles the odyssey of Clinton’s actual 1992 campaign staff. Yes, the real campaign headquarters is filmed during Flowers’ actual television broadcasts and, indeed, Clinton’s faithful followers do seem to shrug off the alleged revelation and proceed forward with their diligent service.

Do we really do this with our leaders? Yes. Is there any other way? Probably not, unless, of course, we can find someone to elect who is absolutely perfect. Some believed Mitt Romney was close, but that’s irrelevant now. Others point to Barack Obama as a possible example of perfection, but Hillary Clinton disagrees.

In fact, on Feb. 21 the senator accused Obama of plagiarism while simultaneously mocking his campaign slogan when she said he was the candidate of “Change you can Xerox.” Such funny little quips are reminiscent of President George H.W. Bush’s attacks on Hillary’s husband, as depicted in The War Room. During one speech, President Bush accuses Bill Clinton of flip-flopping and showing up on both sides of the issues. Bush joked, “He’s been spotted more places than Elvis Presley.”

The War Room captures a few gems, such as a phone call fielded by George Stephanopoulos on Nov. 2, the day before the election. The caller threatens to headline an accusation that Bill Clinton is the father of an illegitimate, black child. The way Stephanopoulos (Clinton’s director of communications) handles this last-ditch effort to smear the presidential hopeful is fascinating.

Another rare moment shows us Bill Clinton on the phone, wearing a T-shirt, a ball cap and sneakers, sitting on a sofa answering questions about his younger years. Clinton admits to his inquisitor, “I basically liked my music and my friends, and we had a good time when we were in high school.”

Despite these valuable glimpses, The War Room doesn’t carry the same comprehensive air as other documentaries, such as Grizzly Man (2005) or This Divided State (2005). Both of these documentaries, which I highly recommend, are the obvious products of the filmmakers’ reviewing of hours and hours of footage to assemble an exhaustive cinematic document. Whereas, The War Room either seems to have been a foraged collection of film fragments or the filmmakers’ “greatest hits” memories. In other words, they either didn’t have the camera running often enough, or they neglected to selectively review all of their footage, settling on the highlights they remembered to use.

My argument is supported by an indicative symptom: setups with no pay-offs. For instance, in one example we hear Clinton’s team pouring over the proper wording for a timed video spot for a good three minutes. After that scene, it stands to reason that we’d get to see a clip from that finished product. No such luck.

Although The War Room is about the Arkansas governor’s campaign, he’s not seen in the documentary very much. In fact, it is “The Ragin’ Cajun,” James Carville who is the star (with George Stephanopoulos co-starring). As far as campaign strategists go, Carville seems to be the political Patton, a scrappy challenger who loves to lead his troops into battle. Indeed, their campaign headquarters or “The War Room” is appropriately named.

Perhaps the strength of this film is its inside-look at the science of political strategy and influencing public opinion. As we enjoy the fanfare of this unfolding election year, The War Room might help us notice the little things, such as campaign posters: In the film we see an almost humorous discussion about whether there should be handmade signs or professionally printed signs; and if the latter, they should all be the same size and shape, all the while, not blending with the opponents’ sign colors. This is one instance where the documentary delivers and shows us the footage that answers the question it poses.

In a tearful, choked-up moment on the night before judgment day, Carville says, “I’m a political professional. That’s what I do for a living. I’m proud of it. … We changed the way campaigns are run.” Though it was 16 years ago, it seems to me that campaigns are still run the same way: with promises, punches and public relations. If Carville changed the way campaigns are run, then it’s a change that’s been Xeroxed.

Directed by Chris Hegedus and D.A. Pennebaker
James Carville / George Stephanopoulos / Bill Clinton
Documentary | 96 min.
MPAA: PG (for language)

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