In recent history, few political figures have been as polarizing as Sarah Palin. On the right, she's fueled extreme conservatives, and on the left, fired up angry liberals. She even scared away moderates, who liked McCain but feared seeing Palin in the White House. So how do you tell her story?
Ask John Heilemann and Mark Halperin, the writers of Game Change. In their book, they set out to deliver a fair and balanced portrayal of the Alaskan governor. Even with that goal, both the movie and book are brutal in their behind-the-scenes take on the candidate's behavior. Yet they were also willing to levy criticism towards her advisers for failing to vet her and failing to capitalize on her strengths while protecting her from her own weaknesses.
Directed by Jay Roach, the movie Game Change, unlike the book, follows the sixty days before election day, beginning with the vetting process. The movie focuses mainly on Sarah Palin, her advisers and the McCain team. Julianne Moore stars as Palin and delivers a phenomenal performance with an almost too perfect accent.
Four years after the election, the movie comes during another stressful time for Republicans, who still struggle to balance rational conservative ideals with extremist concerns that polarize the country, distance liberals and motivate them to even more strongly attack the right.
The movie's portrayal of McCain, in stark contrast to Palin, shows a man willing to move beyond partisan politics during a time when our country is in great need of smart solutions, not career-building deal-making. Early in the movie, Steve Schmidt, adviser to the McCain campaign, says, "John McCain doesn't say what's popular. John McCain puts country first."
"Country first" was McCain's message during his campaign. As a liberal, I have to say that I was impressed with the portrayal of McCain. In another election, against another candidate and with a better VP candidate--say, Lieberman, who he considered for a long time but ultimately decided against under pressure from other popular Republican figures--he could have united the country. Instead, the country and the Republican party has been divided by the VP candidate he did choose and the many absurd remarks she said throughout the campaign, mainly in regards to Obama's patriotism.
The movie certainly highlights many of Palin's cringe-worthy quotes and ideas. But it also points out the failure of McCain's team to vet her and prepare her. It also portrays her strengths--yes, she has them. She loves working the rope lines, for example, and in those scenes, you must admit she is relatable to many people. When the McCain team expresses concerns over her mental health, they consult a doctor, who ultimately says, "for a woman who's just had a baby, has a pregnant teen daughter, and a son in Iraq, I'd say [she's doing] not half bad."
Of course, whenever you begin to feel sympathy for her, the next scene will have you shaking your head again. For example, when asked about the relationship between England and the United States, Palin says she will do her best to maintain ties with the Queen. Her adviser looks at her and responds, "The Queen is no longer the head of government there." Palin's response: "Who is the head of government?"
Problems with the Process
The movie also highlights the inherent problems that our political system currently faces--a problem that's all too apparent during an election year in which the right has failed to produce a semi-decent challenger to the incumbent president. In a red carpet interview before the movie, Julianne Moore commented, "The movie is about how we pick our leaders, and I think that is a really interesting topic to explore." Interesting is stating it mildly.
When McCain is trying to choose his VP candidate, he goes through several options, but ultimately he is fixated on choosing Lieberman as his running mate. Lieberman is a liberal, but one who has largely been ostracized by his own party (like McCain). He and McCain are close friends. Unfortunately, when the news leaks that he's considering Lieberman, the conservative media nip that idea in the bud. McCain still wants to use Lieberman, but Schmidt says, "[Lieberman as VP] could have a tremendous healing effect on our country. Lieberman is the right thing to do, but the wrong way to win."
The movie also briefly touches on the role of the media in regards to the negative, rampant news stories about Bristol, Troopergate and the Bridge to Nowhere: "No news is meant to be remembered, it's meant to be entertainment," Schmidt says to a distressed Palin. As brief as this scene is, it is certainly a sharp jab at the media industry, but one I feel hits the mark on the nose.
One of the last lines in the movie, and perhaps one of the most telling, says, "I do wish people would elect the next Abraham Lincoln. But that's not how politics works anymore." Unfortunately I'm not sure who said it. But it speaks to the failure of the process. When a campaign is more about saying what needs to be said to collect voters, rather than to say what should be said, then there is a major problem with the system. It's no wonder many people throw their hands up in the air and decide not to take part in that process any more.
Whether you love her or love to hate Palin, watch Game Change. Hopefully it will give you a better insight into the decisions she and the McCain team took. More importantly, hopefully the movie will highlight the inadequacies of the current political system and allow us to address the inadequacies candidly.
Want to learn more? Read our review of Game Change, the book.
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