There's a documentary film playing at Coolidge Corner Theater [new window] in Brookline entitled ' Boogie Man: The Lee Atwater Story'. I'd actually never heard of him until this week, but he was very much involved in the success of Republican tickets until his death in 1991 (there's even a quote at the end of the movie that, had he not died, "Bill Clinton never would have been elected"). The movie details his life and his ascension to being a personal political consultant for Reagan and Bush Sr [and working with Bush Jr on his father's campaign] (very much think of a Karl Rove figure - in the movie "Dubya", he's not mentioned, and instead Rove sort of... takes on a bit of his role). His main focus was the spin-zone and the tactics his campaigns would use in order to gain votes (aka 'dirty politics') - such as underlying racist tones (even though, as they point out, it's highly unlikely that he held racist views - he was just able to capitalize on existing tensions in the American public and use them to his candidates' advantage).
Anyway, I really recommend the film; it's 86 minutes, so you won't feel caged in like you might if you were to recall the time when you sat down and watched Spielberg's "A.I." in a theater. You know you remember wanting to leave halfway through - and wondering where these alien-like robots came into play. Sorry, sidetracked. Anywho, here's a link to the film's website if you want more information: Boogie Man [again, new window].
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