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Jewish World Review
March 14, 2012/ 20 Adar, 5772
The real bias in 'Game Change'
By
Byron York
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http://www.JewishWorldReview.com |
Several critics, most of them conservatives, have complained that "Game Change," the HBO movie made from the best-selling 2008 presidential campaign book, portrays Sarah Palin as profoundly stupid. Indeed it does.
Those critics have also complained that the picture portrays John McCain and his top advisers as deeply craven. It does that, too.
In "Game Change," there's lots of bias to go around -- not a surprise in a picture made by the same Hollywood writer-and-director team that produced "Recount," the pro-Gore HBO version of the 2000 election.
But perhaps the strongest bias in "Game Change" is not about any particular politician. At its core, the movie's message is that the Republican base is filled with hatred, racism, and xenophobia. In "Game Change," the McCain-Palin decision to attack Obama for his ties to the former 1960s radical Bill Ayers -- even as the GOP ticket stayed away from Obama's relationship with Rev. Jeremiah Wright -- brings out the ugliness in the hearts of Republican voters.
McCain is portrayed at his best when he rejects the suggestion from some aides to tie Obama to the fiery minister best known for his "Goddamn America!" declaration. "John, if there ever was a time to run a Rev. Wright ad, this is that time," McCain adman Fred Davis tells McCain in a scene early in the movie. "It's the single best weapon we've got."
"I'm going to run a f--king campaign that my kids can be proud of," McCain answers angrily. "And that precludes attacking a black reverend."
Later, McCain's resolve is tested as he falls farther behind Obama in the polls. "We've got to make this about Obama," campaign manager Rick Davis tells McCain in a meeting. "We've got to get tough, and we've got to get negative."
"If we go this way, Rev. Wright is still the best play we have," adds Davis.
McCain concedes that Wright had said inflammatory things. "But there's a dark side to American populism," McCain tells his aides. "Some people win elections by tapping into it. I'm not one of those people."
"Okay, so what about Bill Ayers?" Davis asks. "Obama began his career in the living room of a domestic terrorist. Domestic terrorist -- nothing to do with race."
McCain thinks for a moment. "Okay," he says. "Ayers is fair."
So the campaign goes after Ayers, with Palin playing the lead role, accusing Obama of "palling around with terrorists." That's when the hatred in the Republican masses is unleashed.
"He's not a Christian!" one person yells. "He's a socialist!" screams another before Palin leads the crowd in a chant of "USA! USA! USA!"
A moment later, McCain is on the stump, asking "Who is the real Barack Obama?" "A terrorist!" someone yells. Another shouts, "He's a Muslim!" "He's a socialist!" says still another. And more: "He doesn't represent us!" "He hangs out with people who hate our country!" "Send him back to Africa!"
And finally, the awful climax: "Kill him!"
"We've got to tone the rhetoric down," top campaign aide Steve Schmidt tells a stunned and depressed McCain. "It's gotten out of control. You can't even mention Obama's name any more. The crowd gets too hot."
"This isn't the campaign I wanted to run," McCain says sadly. The movie portrays him trying to tamp down the hatred, but it's too late.
Here's a question. Did anyone yell "Kill him!" at a McCain-Palin rally? There was a report of that, from the Washington Post's Dana Milbank, who said he heard it at an event in Florida, and there was also a local reporter in Pennsylvania who said he heard it at an event in Scranton. But the Secret Service, whose agents were present at the rallies and were charged with protecting candidate Obama as well as McCain and Palin, investigated both allegations and found no evidence that either outburst actually occurred. "The Secret Service takes this sort of thing very, very seriously," noted the liberal Web publication Salon on Oct. 16, 2008. "If it says it doesn't think anyone shouted 'kill him,' it's a good bet that it didn't happen."
That's not to say that a few people didn't yell insults at McCain-Palin rallies. In "Game Change," the book, authors Mark Halperin and John Heilemann wrote, "At rallies across the country, there were jagged outbursts of rage and accusations of sedition hurled at Obama. In Pennsylvania and New Mexico, McCain audience members were captured on video and audio calling the Democrat a 'terrorist.' In Wisconsin, Obama was reviled as a 'hooligan' and a 'socialist.'" There were rumors and stories of all sorts of things being yelled at the rallies, but the authors stuck to what they knew. And of course, anyone could go to lots of McCain-Palin events and never see or hear anything of the sort.
To hear the moviemakers tell it, "Game Change" is a scrupulously fair account of the Republican side of the 2008 campaign. "It has a very evenhanded tone to it," director Jay Roach said recently. There's no reason to think they don't believe that -- but it doesn't make it true.
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Previously:
03/06/12 In politics fight, Breitbart knew culture is key
02/27/12 Hollywood makes 'Game Change' into Sarah Palin story
02/22/12 Why did Santorum lose in 2006?
02/14/12 After wins, Santorum targets Romney's native state
02/07/12 Running as businessman may be Romney's curse
02/01/12 What REALLY happened to the Gingrich ethics case?
01/25/12 Romney's unsolvable Massachusetts problem
01/18/12 If Romney wins, count on Obama to dig into Bain
01/10/12 Is New Hampshire fit to pick a president?
01/04/12 How Romney began journey on abortion
12/28/11 Blame Florida for GOP's holiday craziness
12/20/11 Huckabee dismisses draft but remains a force in Iowa
12/13/11 Surging fast, Gingrich looks to take Iowa
12/06/11 Voters like Newt, but wait to see if he's real
11/29/11 Despite surge, peril for Gingrich all around
11/22/11 To bounce back, Perry must mix it up
11/15/11 Newt's wonkish, unconventional campaign
11/08/11 Tim Pawlenty, the man who coulda been a contender
11/07/11 Gingrich big winner at key Iowa event
10/31/11 Perry's right: Republicans drowning in debates
10/25/11 Romney health plan still faces challenge from GOP
10/18/11 Lesson of Perry's candidacy: Think before you run
10/06/11 In veepstakes, candidates deaf to Rubio ‘no’
10/04/11 Cain's 9-9-9 plan sounds good, but will it work?
09/27/11 Media bias 101
09/20/11 Obama plagued by Dems' ingratitude
09/13/11 Will immigration cripple Perry's bid?
09/06/11 Left paints the campaign as a religious war
08/30/11 Keep your health plan? Don't count on it
08/24/11 GOP operatives fear lasting Ron Paul problem
08/16/11 Michele Bachmann and the ‘submissive’ question
08/09/11 Obama partisans ignore facts when bashing Bush
08/02/11 When partisans fling charges of partisanship
07/26/11 Obama could be comeback kid if he heeds Clinton's lessons
07/19/11 Book casts doubt on Obama healthcare story
07/12/11 Controversial budget law begins to pay off
07/04/11 Anti-Mormon bias persists, notably among Dems
06/27/11 Huntsman tries McCain model, but he's no John McCain
06/06/11 Amid media circus, Palin lays out policy positions
05/30/11 GOP condemns Dems' ‘breathtaking’ refusal to produce budget
05/24/11 Eye-for-an-eye filibuster stops Democratic nominee
05/17/11 Amid RomneyCare fight, voters ask: Where's Mitt?
05/10/11 Bin Laden coup won't help Obama in budget fight
05/09/11 Inside the GOP debate: Pawlenty underwhelms, Cain struggles, Santorum scores
05/02/11 Huckabee decision will shape GOP presidential race
04/27/11 Get ready for game of chicken over debt ceiling
04/25/11 McCain: Libyan rebels seek U.S. recognition, might pay for war costs
04/18/11 Have the U.S. and NATO given up on Libya mess?
04/11/11 Reforming entitlements is key to a strong military
04/05/11 Jihadis Who Killed Americans Get U.S. Support in Libya
04/04/11 Unions deploy money and muscle in Battle of Wisconsin
03/30/11 Labor fight in Wisconsin is far from over
03/28/11 Obama fails to grasp the gravity of going to war
03/21/11 Union equates lavish benefits to black civil rights
03/15/11 GOP should heed lesson of 1991: No guts, no glory
03/14/11 GOP focuses on NPR's subsidies, not its politics
03/08/11 While Obama seeks new ideas, his bureaucrats stifle them
02/28/11 Why the GOP shouldn't fear a government shutdown
02/22/11 In Hawaii, a dispiriting glimpse of one-party rule
02/21/11 Obama team uses slippery words to tout budget
02/15/11 Myth and memory: The battle over Reagan's legacy
02/07/11 Invoking Reagan, Palin says ‘this is a time for choosing again’
01/31/11 With each passing year, Reagan grows larger in the American political imagination
01/24/11 House GOP begins long drive to dismantle Obamacare
01/17/11 GOP gears up again to strip NPR of federal funds
01/10/11 To House GOP, illegal immigration is a jobs issue
01/03/11 Obamacare mess is legacy of Dems' moment of power
12/27/10 Smiling Dems will soon cry ‘Washington is broken’
12/20/10 Dems are earmark junkies but GOP goes straight
12/13/10 Needed: A ‘more presidential’ Palin
12/06/10 With Dems in a funk, Obama charts a new course
11/29/10 Obama's poll numbers point to his defeat in 2012
11/22/10 Holder ignored risks of civilian terror trials
11/16/10 Dems love facts and science --- except when they don't
11/08/10 Obama, new GOP lawmakers are on collision course
11/01/10 New GOP star on track to defeat Dem legend Russ Feingold
10/26/10 If Dems lose, Obama will blame everyone but himself
10/19/10 Profligate Congress should read its own bills
10/13/10 Why Big Labor couldn't match Glenn Beck's rally
10/11/10 Trash-talking Democrat faces defeat in Florida
10/05/10 A GOP unknown in striking distance of Barney Frank
09/28/10 Administration inflates green-jobs numbers
09/20/10 In Delaware, GOP should target Dems, not O'Donnell
09/14/10 GOP Insiders Wary of Landslide Predictions
08/31/10 For Obamacare supporters, judgment day approaches
08/23/10 Obama has himself to blame for Muslim problem
08/17/10 Cut spending without cutting services? Start here
08/17/10 For Michelle Obama, extravagance dents popularity
08/09/10 Obama's zealous civil rights enforcer gets busy
08/02/10 A battle between Left and Right --- inside the GOP
07/26/10 GOP spoiling for fight over Berwick appointment
07/20/10 How long will the public tolerate Afghan war?
07/12/10 NASA's Muslim outreach: Al Jazeera told first
07/02/10 Legal complaint against Gore is detailed, credible
06/28/10 Obama and Dems heading for electoral disaster
06/21/10 Who told Obama drilling is ‘absolutely safe’?
06/14/10 Billions for ‘green jobs,’ whatever they are
06/07/10 Sestak a no-go for any job. So what was the deal?
05/31/10 As economic worries worsen, White House puts on the glitz
05/25/10 GOP dilemma: Fight Kagan, or go along?
05/11/10 Enforcing nation's immigration laws would be a bargain
05/03/10 How Obama could lose Arizona immigration battle
04/27/10 What's behind the anti-Tea Party hate narrative?
04/20/10 As government expands, beware the post-office example
04/19/10 Who wins in 2010? Good luck reading tea leaves
04/12/10 GOP Obamacare strategy: Try repeal, then cut
04/05/10 Obamacare was mainly aimed at redistributing wealth
03/30/10 Message to Dems: People still don't like Obamacare
03/23/10 The coming consequences of Obamacare
03/16/10 Marco Rubio and the Republicans who love him
03/15/10 GOP hopes town halls take health care off table
03/08/10 Dems turn risky health vote into manhood contest
03/01/10 Why Obama defies the public on health care
02/22/10 South Carolina mulls 2012: Romney? Palin? Huck?
02/16/10 GOP winning war over Miranda rights for terrorists
02/09/10 Who are the 300 terrorists held in U.S. prisons?
02/02/10 Is Obama dissatisfied with being president?
01/19/10 The Republican dilemma: Good Michael or Bad Michael?
01/12/10 Now the lawmakers are figuring out what they didn't know
01/05/10 GOP deserves blame for Democratic excesses
12/29/09 Dems' dreams of a blue West begin to turn red
12/22/09 Why Dems push health care, even if it kills them
11/30/09 Dems' kamikaze mission: Health care by New Year's
11/23/09 Why it's a mistake to bring Gitmo prisoners here
11/16/09 Dems' slick fix: $210 billion of fiscal restraint
11/10/09 Obama can't be community organizer for the world
11/02/09 At key moment, Obama leaves health post unfilled
10/26/09 ‘Fierce urgency' for jobs, not health care’
10/12/09 Facts hurt Jennings in youth sex controversy
10/05/09 Amid terror threat, Dems chip away at Patriot Act
09/27/09 In Afghanistan, let U.S. troops be warriors
09/21/09 Under fire, Democrats abandon ACORN in drove
09/14/09 Dems stifle Republican health care plans
09/08/09 For Dems, a serious Charlie Rangel problem
09/07/09 Obama's speech: Wrong setting for a sales job
09/01/09 What happened to the antiwar movement?
08/24/09 Why Dems may jam through health care plan
08/17/09 GOP thinks the unthinkable: Victory in 2010
08/10/09 The empty words of a journalist turned flack
08/03/09 Probe finds new clues in AmeriCorps IG scandal
07/27/09 Obamacare haunted by unkept promises of stimulus
07/20/09 Why the GOP failed the Sotomayor test
07/13/09 What the GOPers will ask Sotomayor
06/29/09 Serious questions remain for Mark Sanford
06/22/09 How GOPers can crack the AmeriCorps scandal
06/16/09 Worried about Sotomayor? Consider Andre Davis
06/08/09 Can Mitch Daniels save the GOP?
06/01/09 When the Dems derailed a Latino nominee
05/26/09 Why the GOP will defeat Obama on healthcare
05/19/09 Rosy report can't hide stimulus problems
05/12/09 The Reagan legacy is the man himself
05/05/09 Sen. Specter, meet your new friends
04/27/09 Ted Olson: ‘Torture' probes will never end
04/20/09 Who's Laughing at the ‘Axis of Evil’ today?
04/14/09 Congress needs Google to track stimulus money
04/06/09 Beyond AIG: A bill to let Big Government set your salary
03/30/09 On Spending and the Deficit, McCain Was Right
03/24/09 It's Obama's crisis now
03/17/09: Geithner-Obama economics: A joke that's not funny
© 2009, NEA
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