Perfect Candidate, A

North's campaign advisors make just as interesting a spectacle as North himself. They are, without exception, hard-working, extremely successful people. They make their living by being the sort of people who get called to either back up, or respond to, threats, attacks, complaints, schemes, and calamities. Their bravado thickens the air of the chaos that bleeds through the entire documentary.

The most revealing moment of the entire documentary is when, upon writing North's concession speech, his campaign advisor pauses in a rare moment of reflection and remarks that, while running for office is about building walls up between people, governing is about tearing them down and coming together. We soften towards him in the end, as his eyes well up upon hearing North deliver the speech, part of it being lifted from a poem inscribed on a coffee mug belonging to his grandmother.

Only upon reflection during the rare calm moments can the audience occasionally sense his disquiet. In high school civics I read that extremism in defense of liberty is no sin, but I now wonder if schmoozing, snarling, misleading, browbeating and back-scratching are.

A Perfect Candidate gives the audience a glimpse into the heart of American electoral politics.

This is perhaps a one of a kind political documentary. It is emblematic of the North campaign's arrogance to have allowed this kind of access behind the scenes. It is an insider's shot for the outsider, to see internal campaign discussions. One of the discussions was of the need to convince a public unenthralled with Chuck Robb, to settle for Ollie North. Everything else beside it, that was the central effort of that campaign: get the voters to 'settle' for Ollie North. They didn't pull it off.

Right away, with the convention speech, we see in full force the kind of mind-numbing demagoguery that was Ollie North in 94. Most Republicans, in a conservative state like Virginia, couldn't abide hime, since they realized his polarizing effect was a danger to the party internally and externally. Only the most uneducated reaganites bought into his brand of blather, mainly because it was so boringly obtuse. Most reaganites, being educated people, couldn't buy into his program after the way he had served the President in the 80s. The Ollie scandal was THE most serious political threat to Ronald Reagan to erupt in two terms.

It was dreadfully amusing to see North lie to the highschool kids, saying he hadn't lied to Congress (since his conviction had been overturned, according to his reasoning), when the documentary begins with immunized testimony of North declaring, "I lied to Congress." One way or the other, the man is a liar; just not a very skilled politician.

Probably the most painful, hysterical, and unforgettable clip is Chuck Robb scuttling through the grocery store, desperately trying to find someone's hand to shake. The hapless Robb should have been able to slam dunk North, as an incumbent with a whole political party united behind him. When the Robb and North campaign managers chat during the candidate debate, it's perfect insight into the candid cynicism.

The campaign manager is the real star, a disgraced fringe player in Republican politics trying to make it back into the big time. Watching the behind the scenes campaign was discomfiting. "Adolescent" was the word that kept coming to mind. Watching their smugness and arrogance, and their "wit," was like watching teenage boys finding themselves very very amusing. That's why I'm afraid this film will be a one of a kind.

The candid moments of the campaign manager, his "bread and circuses" segue and his observations on the political process, were touching. We can't help but feel sorry for him watching him try and fight his way back from the boonies. At the same time, we can't help but feel contempt when watching him gloat over the North "acceptance" speech on election day. This is a unique documentary, worth watching a couple times.

Seeing their stunned faces on election night is worth the price of this tape.