Obama: por una América mejor

Viewed objectively this is a very good documentary about an important part of recent history and the 1 star reviews are ridiculous and obviously politically motivated - as some other reviewer said, I am doubtful that many of them watched it at all.

There are so many false tales about Obama - that he "was the worst president ever", that he was "selected by the establishment" etc - and this documentary shows them for what they are. I guess some people do not want to have their prejudices disturbed.

This is a great documentary ... about a great president!

It cannot be denied that the first African American president would need to be a great man ... much like the first African American major league baseball player (let's hope you know who that was). Simply put, it's not an easy row to hoe and you need the greatest courage and conviction

Let's be real ... BHO is a great person ... a great human being ... a person who lives to make the world a better place ... and most importantly a person who lives a moral life. To be honest he is the man they told us in Sunday school to emulate ... he is in fact a great "role model."

Haters should know that this is not an unbiased documentary. It is a puff piece that admires the man for all he has accomplished and all he aspires to be. That said ... those with closed minds ... those with prejudiced minds ... should go and watch something else because they will not like what they see. So why watch it? Why make yourself angry? Why make others angry?

In the end this documentary must be judged as a "puff piece" about a man that is not only historically significant but is greatly admired by a huge number of fellow Americans ... and I for one loved it!

Obama was more intelligent and a better man than anyone who's been in the White House in a long time. Period. His detractors can't argue this, and they hated him for it. They would rather see Obama slandered than see America progress in any way. What strange patriots.

I loved this president and this documentary is more a celebration of the intelligent people working with and around Obama. Compare his people to the yes-men morons in Trump's circle, or the war criminals telling GWB what to do at every step. Obama continues to be a shining light and an example of American greatness, while Trump is still saying the election was rigged liked Captain Queeg and his strawberries.

What really drove conservatives crazy about Obama was that they could never get any dirt on the guy. They talk and talk about family values and whatever, meanwhile they elect a human pig who was married three times, paid a porn star $100,000 to try to shut her up, and said on TV that he grabbed women by the crotch. Obama has a wonderful wife and two great kids, his administration had zero in the way of scandals. Zero. That's why conservatives lost their minds over Benghazi because they finally thought they had something, but after a ridiculous investigation that was longer and more expensive than 9/11, they found zero again.

Conservatives spent so much time and energy trying to make Obama fail. They didn't care if what they were doing wasn't in the best interests of the country. How do I know this? They said so. All the cared about was making sure he was a one-term president, even after he inherited the disastrous economy Bush left behind in which we were losing hundreds of thousands of jobs every month. Then they immediately started screaming about the national debt, something that didn't trouble them when they started two costly and ill-fated wars.

"Obama: In Pursuit of a More Perfect Union" (2021 release; 3 part documentary totaling 306 min.) is a in-depth look at the life and times of Barack Obama. As Part 1 opens, it is "March 18, 2008, Philadelphia", where Obama addresses an audience explaining why and how his path is to "pursue a more perfect union". We then go back in time, and get an overview of how his parents (African man from Kenya, Caucasian woman from Kansas) met, and the many different countries and places Obama lived during his childhood and youth... At this point we are 10 min. Into the documentary.

Couple of comments: this is the latest documentary from producer-director Peter Kunhardt, whose prior work includes the excellent "King In the Wilderness", among many other 'political' documentaries. Here, just in time to coincide with Obama's 60th birthday, Kunhardt takes a look back at the life and times of Barak Obama. Part 1 runs from his upbringing to the moment in 2007 that he is seriously considering a run for the Presidency. A couple of things are striking, most of all Obama's diverse background and upbringing. But also the ambition to strive for bigger and better things (not necessarily more money--of all the job offers upon graduating from Harvard Law, he picks a small civil rights firm in Chicago). And then this: the civility with which politics were conducted. Amazingly, we are talking just 15-20 years ago. For reasons unknown (which I suspect will be addressed in the documentary's Parts 2 and 3), Republicans disdained, if not outright hated, Obama. Why? Because of his name? Or the color of his skin? I suspect that as the years go by, Obama will be viewed more and more favorably, in particular when put into context and contrast as to who succeeded him: the thug-like and racist (if not fascist) Liar-In-Chief who tried to overthrow the US Congress simply because his mammoth-size ego didn't like the results of the presidential election. No, really.

Part 1 of "Obama: In Pursuit of a More Perfect Union" premiered last night on HBO and is now available on HBO On Demand, HBO Max, Amazon Instant Video and other streaming services. Parts 2 and 3 will air tonight and tomorrow night, respectively. I am very much looking forward to watching them. If you are into politics, regardless of your own political persuasion, I'd readily suggest you check out "Obama: In Pursuit of a More Perfect Union", and draw your own conclusion.

UPDATE 8/4/21 I've now seen Part 2. Which covers when Obama announced running for President in early 2007 through his swearing in as President in January 2009. Fascinating stuff. Not only how he overcame the Clinton campaign but also for the first signs of the ugliness of the race-baiting and outright racism that started cropping up with Sarah Palin being the VP nominee (and years later ultimately resulting in Trump).

UPDATE 8/5/21 I've now seen Part 3, covering Obama's 8 years in office, mounted by a wall of resistance of the GOP in every which way possible. It is sickening to watch in retrospect, as the GOP relentlessly keeps playing the race card at every opportunity and in every which way, as Obama keeps the hope for "pursuing a more perfect union". It sadly leads all to, yes, of course, Trump. Watch Obama's very last farewell speech in January, 2017. If that doesn't give you the chills, I don't know what will.

As a complete aside, the GOP detested and hated Obamacare, and tried to derail it time and again (only to be held up by courts). Time has shown it is widely popular with many Americans, ironically benefitting many white lower and middle class who railed against Obama, vowing to "take our country back" and "make America great again". In the 11 years since Obamacare, the GOP has not once proposed an alternative. NOTHING. For shame.

This doc could easily be labeled as partisan trash, and I've noticed it has. But only because of the partisanship of the haters. This a comprehensive doc(made by HBO too btw) about the first black, two-term president of the United States?! No need to puff it up any greater than it was/is to begin with. There are extensive interviews from journalists, scholars, civil rights activists to name a few. Anyone who enjoys a great history documentary will love this.