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So Goes the Nation

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And one that whould make any thoughtful person worry. The 2004 presidential race came down to a wire that stretched across Ohio. The film makers taped the race from the perspective of both sides. The stratagists on both sides are surprisingly open about their tactics and, more importantly, about their opinions. Whatever the actual merits of either party's platform; Polls showed that the voters in Ohio agreed more with the Democratic positions, but in the end more voted Republican, largely because the Republican's kept their message simple: "You might not agree with George Bush but at least you'll know where he stands."
Kerry's message meanwhile (although more Ohio voters actually agreed with it) was scattered and lacked a theme. Kerry was his own worst enemy. He had a proclivity for tripping over his tongue, soundbites of which the Republicans were able to use in their "Flip Flop" attacks. And when he should've spoken up during the swift boat attack ads, he remained quiet. He also allowed himself to be taped doing something other than riding a horse or chopping wood, which seems to be a big mistake in American politics. That his handlers allowed him to go wind surfing should've cost them any future political employment. I half expected to see him curling in the next shot.
One Republican stratagist admits he was relieved when Howard Dean's campaign crashed and burned, because he knew it would be easier to subterfuge Kerry. The Republican stratagists were quite shrewd, while the Democratic stratagists may not have qualified to run a highschool campaign.
One simple unfortunate truth that emerges is that attack ads work. The electorate claims that they're sick of mud slinging and that they don't respond to it, but in fact they do. And campaign stratagists are (or should be) well aware of this.
Another truth that emerges is the utter superficiality of a campaign process that's all about TV images and smear jobs. I'm surprised more people don't keep away from the voting booths.
I was surprised that the supporters of either side really cared that much about their candidate or their party. Both sides had supporters who were intelligent and honest and dedicated, and who believed in what they were doing. And yet I had this feeling that what their party apparatus had to offer them for their herculean efforts wasn't enough. To the victor goes a flat glass of champaign. To the vanquished goes the same. And if they said "participating in the democratic process was enough of a reward for them" I'd remind them that a process that lacks any kind of honest dialog or exchange of ideas can hardly be called democratic. If it rests soley on mud slinging and 'image' it's a beauty contest, and it's a damed shame.
This is a very troublesome documentary. If you believe that democracy is a good thing and that it hindges on a well informed electorate you'll be saddened to see this. But see it you must.

With interviews of strategists from both parties, the filmmaker presents a remarkably balanced and informative look at politics in Ohio during the 2004 Presidential election. Some issues, like game-playing with the number of voting machines in each district, are only glancingly mentioned, but the overall presentation helps in understanding how Kerry lost.

Excellent documentary about the 2004 U.S. presidential election, focusing on the battleground state of Ohio. Definitely confirms three things for me: political parties are wickedly nasty machines; religion is used, misused, and abused by both parties; and most of our decisions are made from emotion instead of reason.

Very interesting and entertaining documentary about the political process in 2004. Valuable for the future elections as it shows the dynamics of behind the scene action in the political arena. Enjoyed very much!

An engrossing and well-structured film that succinctly explains Bush's victory in Ohio, and thus the United States in the presidential election of 2004. The film's use of three main characters to frame the narrative gives the film a personal quality, and prevents it from becoming a dry recitation of facts that poorer documentaries often become.

As a non-American, I heartily recommend this film to anybody with an interest in American politics, and how electioneering there differs from other English-speaking countries.

So Goes Then Nation accomplishes something that is often completely removed from U.S. political coverage, a real dismantling of the differences between a good campaign and a good politician.

George W. Bush is never in So Goes the Nation described as an accomplished president by anyone interviewed, even from his own side. Even when accepting the nomination, Republicans didn't focus on Bush's accomplishments, but completely made the 2004 campaign about John Kerry's faults and it worked.

What So Goes the Nation does is call out the American voter. What exactly are voters basing their decisions on? Because as most of the participants in So Goes The Nation admit, the whole discussion was about John Kerry, instead of a critique of the decisions that Bush made in his first four years in office as president.

Therefore So Goes the Nation reveals the gamesmanship of a presidential campaign and dissects brilliantly what did and did not work from a campaign perspective, but the actual governing abilities of the politicians involved are never really discussed, which reveals how the general public can so easily allow themselves to be manipulated.

Therefore it reveals that a good campaign can easily elect a bad politician.

An even-handed, perceptive and compelling view of the 2004 presidential campaign. Must viewing for anyone interested in American politics.

SO GOES THE NATION takes us to Ohio for the final days leading up to the 2004 presidential election. Its most compelling moments feature volunteers for the campaigns of John Kerry and George W. Bush, soldiering on, political bullets flying overhead. Other perspectives come post-election day from interviews with Democratic and Republican Party officials.

What SO GOES THE NATION lacks is the filmmakers' perspective. For example, it only hints at the ugly truths that cost John Kerry the official vote count. When I saw this D.V.D. recently at the public library, I wondered why I had not heard of it. After seeing SO GOES THE NATION's timid take on Republican suppression of likely Kerry voters in the Buckeye State, I understood why most word of mouth was probably two syllables - "Skip it."

Nonetheless, credit SO GOES THE NATION for taking us into the hearts and souls of ordinary people working hard for the Kerry and Bush campaigns in which they believe. Watching those volunteers' spirits soar and dip (Kerry) and dip and soar (Bush) on Election Day 2004 I compare it to true-storytelling such as APOLLO THIRTEEN, where we already know what happens yet suspense builds anyway.

Goebbels has evolved. Showing selected exerps in an,..excuse me while I laugh.., unbiased protrayal of the 2004 election focusing in Ohio.
The 2004 election was stolen as was the 2000 presidential election. Both by the same Republican's election party member chairs: Harris(2000)FL. and Blakwell(2004)OH., both in charge of counting the votes. Both are the quintessential oxymorons of political elections!
The set up is there but the follow through is strikenly absent.
Get to the bottom line by reading Mark Crispen's, Fooled Again and Greg Palast's, Armed Madhouse.
When you read those books, or their suggested recommended further readings & web sites, you would also agree: This so-called documentary is a great American propaganda piece.
Highly Recommended for future Goebbels and wanta be Roves!

After watching this on IFC, I have grown supersaturated by Iraq War documentaries and/or political documentaries. This one really doesn't cover anything a seasoned political junkie doesn't know, and honestly, unless your Michael Moore who has a big name and box office muscle, your documentary is only going to be seen by political junkies who just want their opinions confirmed by films like this.

Yes, Bush lied about the Iraq War, and he used patriotism and other wedge issues to drive the American people apart. His favorite was the usually reliable gay marriage, even though it may surprise people that there is a federal law already on the books banning it. It was called the Defense of Marriage Act, and it was signed by none other than Bill Clinton. For the record, John Kerry was one of 12 Senators to vote against it. Yes, Karl Rove used this to his advantage, and yes, most of the American people fell for it. I've heard this all before on Air America Radio, progressive blogs, etc., etc.. This film really offers nothing new except dragging out the old culprits (like Terry McCauliffe, the horrid DNC chair who presided over many losing election for nearly 10 years until the Dems decided it might be time for a change after the 2004 debacle. McCauliffe was voted out, but not without a struggle).

The main point of this documentary is that what the GOP was morally reprehenisble and wrong. However, in a political season, you have to fight hard, and yes, you have to get dirty (real politics isn't like The West Wing TV show). The Dems didn't. Kerry ran one of the most incompetent, horrendous campaigns in modern history. He was not a very good candidate (I'm sorry, he is stiff and rather boring), and he simply thought that by not being George W. Bush, he would win. He rarely went after Bush (Bush's name was hardly mentioned during the Dem convention in 2004). Kerry voted for the war, then voted against an appropriations bill (there is footage here of Kerry in front of a veterans' crowd where he uttered the infamous line "I voted for the 87 billion before I voted against it"). They cut to GOP operatives after this, and they all basically say "thank you, John Kerry, for giving us this line.".

Karl Rove and his GOP minions used this line ad nauesum in their ad attacks. Many hate Rove, and think he's an evil genius. He's pretty damn evil, but most political operatives are generally not very nice. And he isn't a genius. He's an opportunist, and he took advantage of a rotten Kerry campaign. Kerry did himself no favours by voting for the Iraq War resolution (everyone knew that Bush wanted a war, the resolution was purely political theater), and by allowing the Swiftboaters to trash his military record and not say anything. And when it came time to contest Ohio, Kerry buckled. He didn't do a damn thing. I do think there were some shenanigans about, but when you say "I'm going to make sure every vote is counted", and then concede when some votes obviously weren't counted, you're not exactly instilling confidence. Rove took advantage of all these, and the Dems and Kerry should have known that Rove would do this. He's done it his whole life. This isn't news. It's common sense.

This documentary is no different than any other documentary that has been made about the run up to the war. Everyone and their grandmother seems to have one, and they really don't change people's minds, and just preach to the choir. If you're a political junkie that wants to hear for the umpteenth time that Bush is bad and the Iraq War is bad, rent/buy this.
I am really no longer outraged by docs such as this. Perhaps it's deep cynicism on my part, or maybe I don't think these things really do any good.