Boogie Man: The Lee Atwater Story (2008)

This is an investigative documentary about Republican operative Lee Atwater. He's a blues-playing hyper-competitive southerner from South Carolina rising to be GOP Chairman. Supposedly, he picked Republicans because of their inferior state and therefore greater opportunity to advance. He interns for Strom Thurmond. In 1973, he becomes the head of college Republicans with his protégé Karl Rove beating the expected winner by challenging every vote and handed the victory by George H.W. Bush. He is able to tap into southern white resentment using every trick possible as long as he gets the win. He is instrumental in Reagan and becomes the favorite hired hand of the Bushes. However it's George W. Bush that is his true soulmate. Both men have been in the rougher street-level world unlike the high class Bush family. He is unrelenting in his drive and remorseless to his enemies.This is a damning indictment on politics and a compelling personal study. It's easy to understand the Democrats hating the man and his methods. It is more fascinating to hear it from his former Republican colleagues like Ed Rollins. That's behind the scenes from somebody who was actually behind the scenes. It probably needs to expand on his childhood. Of course, the right has bones to pick about this movie. It has a point of view and it's not a fluff piece of Lee. The funny thing is that Lee would probably be secretly proud of this assessment of his work while railing against it as all lies.

I couldn't sleep one night and this documentary was on CBC Newsworld. The political career of Lee Atwater and how he helped Ronald Reagan and George Bush get to the White House is sobering stuff.Atwater was a master at spin. He would use every dirty trick in the book to make the GOP's opponents in the elections look bad. Unscrupulous, underhanded, ruthless and unrelenting, he would do everything he could to undermine the opposition. He even would attack his own, such as Bob Dole. He would use the power of fear to get people to vote for the Republicans.Despite all this, he still comes off as a charismatic, very likable, affable and cool guy. His love of blues music and the guitar just make you want to forgive him for his evil ways. He comes off as a true charismatic enigma.A very interesting look at how the political machine worked in the 1980's and how easy it is to control people with words and images, Boogie Man is definitely worth a watch to see how Atwater manipulated the American people to see things his way.

Political docs are often dry and impersonal. This portrait of republican strategist Lee Atwater is anything but. Boogie Man is a compelling story of an intense man driven by power and attention. Like so many in politics, but also on Wall street or in Hollywood, this guy is about winning at all costs. It has great music that keeps you tapping your foot. The film also provides a compellingly smart analysis of media and advertising strategies given by experts in the political world. The film's unexpected story arc that kept me riveted to the screen.The archival footage of the Bush family is also priceless.

The film is a fascinating look at a man who profoundly changed the tenor of modern political campaigns. Stefan Forbes does an excellent job of charting Lee Atwater's political life, and you get enough of the personal to get a sense of the complexities of the man. As you hear stories told by people who are still very active in politics today—Ed Rollins, Terry McAuliffe and Tucker Eskew —it's easy to make a connection between Atwater's political legacy and current election dramas . . . It's something to see Tucker Eskew speak with such glowing admiration of Lee Atwater knowing that he was recently hired by the McCain campaign!!!I really enjoyed the film—found it entertaining and enlightening.