Chris Higgins
Frontline: The Choice 2008
by Chris Higgins - October 21, 2008 - 12:46 PM

The Choice 2008With just two weeks left until election day in the U.S., the race is no longer heating up: it’s at a steady boil. Early voting has begun, a full eight national tracking polls are cranking out numbers daily, and the campaigns are on the ground nationwide Getting Out the Vote. If you haven’t voted yet (or if you just can’t get enough political coverage), I urge you to check out Frontline’s The Choice 2008 program online. You can watch the whole thing for free — and I think you’ll find it worthwhile.

The Choice is a Frontline staple going back to 1988, taking a detailed look at both candidates, including extensive interviews with primary sources close to the candidates. The interviews are surprisingly revealing: these people aren’t stage-managed politicos spouting talking points (presumably those bits have been edited out). Instead the interviewees offer honest, candid assessments of the candidates, their campaigns, and their personal biographies. It has been a long road to this election for both candidates, and The Choice is the definitive documentary about that journey. Here’s part of the film’s summary:

With the race narrowed to two men — one whose life was focused by his military service and his years as a POW in Hanoi, the other a black child raised by his white family who found identity in grassroots organizing and politics in the African American community of Chicago — America is truly at a crossroads: historic lows in the public’s confidence in our country’s future; a battered incumbent overseeing an unpopular war in Iraq; an economy in deep trouble as the world’s financial crisis plays out.

“This is a moment where people are both terrified and also hopeful,” says Kirk. “They have a choice between two extraordinary candidacies, two men who are trying to embody change in a time where many Americans seem to believe partisan dysfunction has curtailed the ability of our political parties to lead.”

As journalist Matt Bai concludes, “Both of them, in what they convey to voters — one in a long career spanning decades, the other in a lightning flash of a career spanning what seems like minutes — [is] a sense of breaking with the status quo, a sense of change, a sense that things need to be done differently than they’ve been done before. And the question I think a lot of voters will have to ask themselves is, who’s actually going to deliver?”

To watch the program, visit The Choice 2008 home page and click “Watch the Full Program” in the middle. Alternately, you can download the whole show from iTunes (also for free, through November) to watch it on the go. Finally, you can watch it on YouTube if you can stand the tiny little window.

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Comments (10)

  1. Frontline is awesome! Its like TV journalism, if TV journalism was insightful, thought provoking, honest and able to tackle the important.

    posted by Marty on 10-21-2008 at 1:22 pm

  2. I was President of the College Republicans for a Baptist University in Texas for 3 years.

    I have voted in every Republican primary/general election since I turned 18.

    I have been a Delegate to 5 Texas Republican State Conventions (held every 2 years)

    Yesterday, during early voting I selected Barack Obama.

    I voted for McCain in the primaries, I thought he was the person who could best win and keep a Liberal Congress in check. It soon became clear the only thing he cared about was lowering spending (which I am all for), but it is not a thorough plan for America. We need someone who can fix the economy, and John McCain does not have the answer.

    McCain is 72, he has had cancer 4 times! (Some one will no doubt say his mother is 92, McCain mentions this often. He does not mention his dad, who died at age 70.) Does anyone really think Sarah Palin is qualified to lead this nation should, God forbid, McCain die? I am sure she is a nice lady, and if she wants to live in my dream neighborhood with my family she and Todd are more than welcome. (Same goes for Mike Huckabee)

    Finally, his advisers. People tell me that John McCain will hire economic advisers once he is elected to sort this economy out. McCain has already hired some, either they are no good or he is not listening to them. The day Bush made his ‘disaster statement’ about the economy, McCain had already said that “The fundamentals of the economy are sound.” That night he changed his tune. Is that leadership? Is that sound economic advice? Will he appoint the same advisers who told him to pick Sarah Palin? Will he appoint the same advisers who told him the American people want to hear about William Ayers? Barack Obama will be surrounded by Joe Biden on foreign policy, Colin Powell on Military affairs and Warren Buffet on the economy.

    Barack Obama is inexperienced as I am often told by my Republican Friends. What they do not appreciate is that we had another President from Illinois whose total elected experience was 2 years in the House. His face was carved on a mountain.

    I don’t like the Obama / Biden ticket. If I went point for point on my political beliefs McCain would be closer than Obama. But when it comes to who is the better President right here, right now, I have to vote for Obama.

    posted by Witty Nickname on 10-21-2008 at 1:26 pm

  3. Very well said Witty Nickname. A difficult choice that will no doubt have long lasting effects. My only plea to people is to actually investigate. Don’t turn away from McCain simply because it seems everyone else is voting for Obama and don’t turn from Obama simply because his name doesn’t sound like yours and he is a democrat.

    posted by J on 10-21-2008 at 1:52 pm

  4. Agreed, J. This can NOT turn into a popularity contest.

    Please, people, don’t cast your vote because Matt Damon told you to. Or Alec Baldwin. Or Robert DeNiro. Etc.

    I honestly believe that Obama has a better grasp on what will turn this country around.

    posted by Michael on 10-21-2008 at 2:06 pm

  5. Agreed on the “dig deeper” thing. Hopefully this Frontline special will help each voter understand both candidates — there’s quite a bit I learned about both of them, and at the end of the day understanding their biographies reveals them both as human beings. This is an important perspective we don’t often get during a campaign.

    posted by Chris Higgins on 10-21-2008 at 2:20 pm

  6. I am a lifelong Democrat. Voted for a Democrat in every election since 1980.

    But this election I am voting Republican.

    See, Witty Nickname. I can play that game too. Lying is so easy to do!

    Yay socialism!

    posted by Sam on 10-21-2008 at 2:53 pm

  7. Sam, if you are insinuating that I am lying about being a Republican I suggest you go back to recent posts I have left. I have thought long and hard about this decision, and I came to the conclusion, recently, that Obama is the better man for the job. But since you suggested I am lying I recommend these recent posts (I can not post links, so replace the 19510 in your address bar with the numbers below)

    19066

    19311

    posted by Witty Nickname on 10-21-2008 at 3:32 pm

  8. http://www.vote-smart.org

    Get accurate information on every candidate in every election, local or national.

    posted by Bri on 10-22-2008 at 8:33 am

  9. I am impressed–for the most part, this has remained a political discussion without any name-calling. This kind of forum has been sorely lacking in this election in my opinion.

    Get the information, and get out and vote!!

    Thanks for the post, Chris!

    posted by Orange on 10-22-2008 at 11:02 am

  10. Witty Nickname,

    When I read your post, I almost spit my coffee all over my computer screen. I never expected you would cast a vote for Obama, though, I can say in all honesty, I am certainly glad you did.

    posted by Florida on 10-23-2008 at 2:40 pm

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