By the People: The Election of Barack Obama (2008)

Ever since I first saw The West Wing I've been interested in US politics (in the UK it's all so dull). I ultimately went on to study American Studies (and English) at university and enjoyed every minute of it. There's so much about US politics that is fascinating, and none more so than presidential elections. So I followed the 2008 election closely and was pleased when Barack Obama ultimately triumphed over the Republicans. Last night BBC2 showed the HBO documentary By the People, which followed Obama's campaign from 2007 (I can't believe how early it all starts!), right through through primaries where he faced down Hillary Clinton, and to the national election when John McCain and Sarah Palin (WTF?) were sent packing.

Although the result of the election is obviously known, that didn't detract from the power of the documentary. It showed how Obama electrified the electorate and got them excited about him and the possibility of his presidency. The people around him, his campaign team, where a mix of old hands and new blood, and you could sense the thrill that drove them. I can't believe how young (and, yes, hot) Obama chief speechwriter is (Jon Favreau)! The whole thing looked like The West Wing come to life (the 2008 campaign mirrored the final 2 seasons of that great drama in many ways, not least in the battle between a non-white Democrat and an aged Republican), although because the cameras only followed Obama's team there was not the chance to see both parties' machines at work as the West Wing was able to show. 

Obama comes out of the documentary with integrity and some of the private moments shown illustrated how good-humoured and grounded he and his family are. It was good that the makers didn't shy away from showing Obama's critics, and the scandals that were cooked up to throw at his campaign - the vox pops from the 'great' American public often showed the ignorance and prejudice of some voters. But of course, America is a democracy, and these people have the right to their views, and the wonderful thing shown by this documentary is how passionate Obama made people about the election. Sometimes this passion was displayed as support for an African-American candidate and sometimes it went the other way, but at least Obama was and is a figure that people care about. Compared to the apathetic party leaders we have here in the UK, the American election was a hundred times more interesting - and I couldn't even vote in it!

The real power of the film came towards the end, when Obama was campaigning for the final time before the election. His grandmother, who had raised him, died on the eve of the election. The footage of Obama was not exploitative as it only shown his reaction at a televised conference, but what it did show was a strong man, who was not using his grandmother as a campaign tool, but who wanted to talk about his loss in terms of how powerful ordinary Americans can be in their day to day lives. It was rather a humbling speech to watch, and the raw emotion as Obama wiped away a tear was palpable. It showed the humanity of the man, and it showed that America made the right choice in electing him as their 44th President.