Legal Commentary

A big story in this past election was the change of Virginia from a red state to a blue state.  If you are a politico coming down off the heady fumes of this year's contests (cf. the chart included in this post), you should check out the documentary "A Perfect Candidate."  The documentary chronicles the 1994 Virginia Senate contest between Chuck Robb and Oliver North (with Doug Wilder in an Oscar-worthy supporting role).   It's an incredible documentary -- it focuses on North's campaign, and the level of access granted by the North folks is unbelievable in retrospect.  Given the fairly raw footage on display, it's unlikely we'll ever see it again.  But you should check it out -- it is a slice of American politics that can rarely be seen so vividly.

Just to sell it a little more:

• There are so many scenes that are really startling -- startling because of their unguardedness.  There's Chuck Robb wandering around a grocery store looking for voters.  There's the elderly DAR member who supports the flying of the Confederate flag.  There's the (not more than) four-year old with a rifle who says he shoots "clay pigeons and Democrats."  And there's the Washington Post writer who calls North a "demogogue" and his supporters "fascists."  No one really escapes unscathed -- but at the same time, everyone retains their humanity.
• You can see former McCain advisor and current MSNBC guru Mike Murphy in a minor role -- shooting around ideas with the other North consultants.
• Two Republican senators express grave doubts about North's candidacy when he wins the nomination -- Bob Dole and John McCain.
• Some folks are warning that President Obama has to rein in his agenda, or he will end up with another Republican revolution like Clinton did in 1994.  This movie immerses you in 1994 -- the issues, the culture wars, the icons, the drama. 
• There's the scene at the end when North campaign manager Mark Goodin tears up at the loss of his candidate.  Goodin comes off as a decidedly mixed figure -- a scrapper, a hard-fighter, someone perhaps willing to skirt the norms in order to succeed.  But at the end, when he stands in the cold and wells up in sadness and anger, he is truly one of the iconic figures in American politics.  It is hard not to be moved.