"Why change horses midstream?" was originally a campaign slogan for Abraham Lincoln during the Civil War.
After this film was released, U.S. President Bill Clinton became involved in a sex scandal with Monica Lewinsky. Real-life events seemed to mirror the film's plot in August 1998 when Clinton ordered bombing attacks of Al-Qaeda targets in the Middle East after he testified and just as Lewinsky was set to testify on the scandal, and later in December 1998 when his administration led a bombing raid in Iraq right before the U.S. House of Representatives was set to vote on his impeachment due to the Lewinsky scandal. Many political commentators and critics referenced the film even using the term 'wag the dog' to describe these events. Interest in the movie spiked quickly during this time.
"A good plan today is better than a perfect plan tomorrow," a line of dialogue in the film spoken by Conrad Brean (Robert De Niro), is a real-life quotation from World War II General George S. Patton.
During the filming of this movie, director Barry Levinson and Dustin Hoffman and Robert De Niro had an impromptu co-incidental meeting at a Washington, D.C. hotel with President Bill Clinton. Clinton asked De Niro: "So what's this movie about? De Niro looked over to Levinson, hoping that he would answer the question. Levinson, in turn, looked over to Hoffman. Hoffman, realizing there was no one else, to whom to pass the buck, is quoted as saying, "So I just started to tap dance. I can't even remember what I said."
Barry Levinson: [Ralph Tabakin] Ralph (Southern Man) has appeared in every Levinson picture from Diner (1982) to Liberty Heights (1999).