Bush's Brain

When I first glimpsed the title to this documentary, I must admit that I was indeed a little taken aback. I never knew George W. Bush had a brain.

However, "Bush's Brain" shows that Georege W. Bush does indeed have a brain working for him; it just happens to be within the head of another individual. The premise of the film is that Karl Rove may be this generation's Senator McCarthy. Rove is to pro-war activities as Senator McCarthy was to communism, both real or imagined, in the early 1950's. By equating genuine questions by everyday citizens about the legitimacy of the war in Iraq with not being patriotic, Rove has set up a dynamic where intelligent discussion of foreign policy is difficult, if not almost impossible. Bush is shown as being co-ruler with Rove, or should I say Rove is co-ruler with Bush?

Rove is part of Bush's advisory team and several people in this film see Rove as wielding as much influence over Bush's decision making as a prime minister. Rove is seen as having marketed the Iraq war as the defining moment for Bush, whom he calls 'the War President'. The war in Iraq, then, is something which legitimizes the presidency for Bush and pushes all other issues aside.

The Rove doctrine, simply stated, is that 'A true American either supports Bush and the Republican party or he is labeled a traitor' (Democrats and dissenting Republicans included). If these statements sound like something from one of George W. Bush's speeches, that is because both Rove and Bush say very similar things, sometimes word for word. The film makes it a point to reveal that it is difficult to know where Bush and Rove differ as individuals; the title of the film is meant to inform us that Bush and Rove are a team and Rove is 'the brain' behind the operations, the power behind the throne.

Rove has a history, according to the film Bush's Brain, of destroying people politically and disrupting the personal lives of those who attempt to oppose him. Rove does these dirty deeds because 'he needs to win at all costs' and Rove lives by the philosophy that 'the ends justify the means'. Many people in the state of Texas have been hurt by Rove. Rove is accused of running dirty campaigns against such people as Ann Richards (former governor of Texas), John Hightower (a Texas commissioner), and several other people in various public offices. One of the most interesting anecdotes concerning Rove's political methods is that Rove once planted a 'bug' in his own office during a campaign and alerted the press so that his candidate would receive sympathy votes. The FBI concluded that the 'bug' was not likely used or even operational, but the political damage to the person challenging Rove's candidate had been done and Rove and his team won the election. Rove is alleged to be the brains behind the smear campaign against John McCain (Republican presidential candidate in 2000).

The script of this film was taken from research done by journalists James C. Moore and Wayne Slater. While it is possible to follow the film without reading the book by these two journalists, which I will paraphrase as Bush's Brains: How Karl Rove Won the Presidency for George W. Bush, I suspect that reading the book would enhance the viewing of this film. A lot of Texas politics are covered in the first half of the film, the particulars of which I was only vaguely familiar. The film does show a pattern of dirty politics which Rove seems to use consistently. It is interesting that Karl Rove declined to be interviewed for the film but he did send a fifteen page letter to the book's authors taking issue with some of their research. One or two people who are presently on good terms (i.e. speaking terms) with Karl Rove were willing to defend Rove's actions during political campaigns. Even his friends admit that he becomes overly consumed with winning. The film was fair and balanced because of this inclusion of people who left their association with Karl Rove on good terms. People who had once been friends with Rove but had fallen from his good graces also were interviewed. They admitted that he is a bright fellow but that he has a deep dark side when it comes to competitiveness - Rove is determined to win at any cost. Where other campaigners would draw the line, Rove will boldly sling excrement and escalate the attacks until he has outright assassinated the character of the opponent unfairly.

After listening to several people who were interviewed about the history of their dealings with Rove, one gets the impression that Rove is a genial man to those he encounters until someone dare crosses him. Rove is very much a hard worker for the Republican candidates for whom he campaigns and represents. If Rove senses or believes that his candidate may lose an election, he is not in the slightest bit hesitant to play the very dirtiest and darkest politics. He is alleged to have been responsible for the complete character assassination of John McCain, where McCain's sanity was called into question during the presidential election back in 2000.

From the interviews of both friends and detractors of Rove, one gets a sense that Karl Rove and Machiavelli would agree that expediency is of the utmost importance in attaining one's goals and outweighs any ethical concerns.

Bush's Brain was revealing, but loses focus near end. Shows that Rove has been sleazy -- very sleazy -- throughout his political career in Texas but not exactly how he manipulates George Bush today.

The 2000 Presidential campaign, the part of the movie that would have answered the film's opening question "How could this have happened?" is not really covered at all; rather the film goes abruptly ahead to the 9/11 episode. Film goes for pathos near end by showing a particular soldier who died early in Iraq thing, similar to Moore's film Fahrenheit 9/11, but does not tie war dead specifically to theme of Rove's being Bush's Svengali and how "this" (Bush's presidency) could have happened.

As other viewers have commented, the film's own agenda, to show Karl Rove as a sinister villain, is in conflict with the visuals of Rove as a pleasantly pudgy, self-effacing nerd. There is a distinct danger that the audience may decide finally that that visual image wins, rather than the text of the movie. Remember the scene, apparently based on a true story I read, in Broadcast News where Holly Hunter's character shows a video of a worldwide domino competition in order to portray "soft news" in a negative light; instead the comical, diverting image of tumbling domino tiles is the only part of her recitation to which anyone pays attention. The Bush's Brain people should have learned from such examples and done more to show that Rove's commercial image is what's being contested.

Do see this movie, for the sake of the facts of Karl Rove's seamy career that it does succeed in showing. It's also a good example of combining "talking heads" with other footage in a documentary to keep the audience's level of alertness piqued now and then, compared to the occasionally dulling effect of recent anti-Bush documentaries Outfoxed and Uncovered. Ironically those two are far superior films.

Seems as if a more nearly complete documentary had been planned, but that this one was rushed into release in order to be timely and to influence voters before coming election. May, rather, hurt progressive agendas that this movie is not as well done as it should have been.

Before seeing 'Bush's Brain', directed by Joseph Mealey and Michael Shoob, and based on the book of the same title written by James C. Moore and Wayne Slater, I had heard the name Karl Rove, but never knew what his role in the Bush Administration was. After seeing 'Bush's Brain', I have a good idea of who he is and how he operates, which I think was just one of the objectives of the filmmakers.

'Bush's Brain' examines the rise of Karl Rove, Bush's top political adviser and the head of his presidential campaign. Before working for George W., he successfully engineered the campaign of several Texas politicians, leading up to, of course, George W. Bush's election as governor. The film briefly deals with his rise to prominence, and then spends most of its time focusing on three separate campaigns that Rove worked on. Rove is portrayed as an unscrupulous man who will stop at nothing to get his candidate elected; generally a trait that you would want in a campaign director, except through eye-witness accounts and interviews with former colleagues, we learn that this does not mean only engaging in legal or moral activities. We learn of how he orchestrated 'whisper campaigns' (most notably during John McCain's 2000 bid for the Republican nomination, something that really made me scratch my head, considering McCain's seeming undying devotion to Bush now) among other tactics for all of his successful clients.

Personal politics aside, when I went to see this film I was expecting more of a Democratic lean, just based on the title alone. The film did a good job providing seemingly factual information throughout, however the last segment of the film focuses on a family who tragically lost their son in Iraq. After making the case that Rove and Bush orchestrated the recent war, Mealey and Shoob throw in this segment for obvious emotional impact. It did, of course, but it was unnecessary and preachy. I feel that they did a good job making their case already. The filmmakers also insisted on telling us who each interviewee was throughout the film, so that was also a minor distraction.

'Bush's Brain' was an interesting documentary and certainly provided a lot of food for thought, but it wasn't as effective as it could have been. It is probably important viewing, mainly for the sake of the information provided, however. 5/10

--Shelly

I learned about Karl Rove when I read a book called 'Boy Genius: Karl Rove, the Brains Behind the Remarkable Political Triumph of George W. Bush,' so I already knew most of what Bush's Brain had to say, but I couldn't resist checking it out, since Bush makes himself such an easy target for attacks on his intelligence. In the wake of Bush's historic success in managing to win a second term as the United States President after being elected for the first time, it seems that we have not seen an end to documentaries like this, which are now coming in just about equal force from both sides. It's just too bad that both sides resort to dirty and often unfair and dishonest tactics, especially when they are accusing the other side of dirty tricks that they go on to use in that same movie (seen FahrenHYPE 9/11 yet? WOW).

Who is Bush's Brain focuses on the actions of the Bush administration that can easily be traced to someone other than George W. Bush. Karl Rove, who has run vicious and underhanded campaigns almost since the day that he became involved in politics, is clearly revealed as the power behind the throne, most disturbingly in a creepy dissolve from a smiling picture of Bush to a scary, sneering picture of Rove. He truly is a frightening man, even beyond his tactics.

This is an interesting political documentary that doesn't take sides as strongly as many others, although it is not ambiguous about its intent to portray a Bush as a puppet for other people, most notably Karl Rove and Dick Cheney, which is difficult to argue with given how the administration has been run so far. Unfortunately, the movie strays from its intent when it presents the story of a family of an American killed in Iraq. Tragic story and one that certainly holds merit and should be seen, but that's just not what this movie is about. We can make the connection to such stories after this movie tells us about who is really in charge behind Bush, we don't need it thrust in our faces.

That being said, as the mess in Iraq gets worse and worse and the President continues to ignore the escalating damage being done to that country as well as our own, it is interesting to wonder what kinds of documentaries will be released during his second term attacking his handling of that situation. For now, here are some theories as to where the real responsibility may lie.

This documentary suggests that Karl Rove is literally Bush's brain, as if George is a puppet, with strings pulled by Karl Rove. I think that is too simplistic. The second point is that Rove, a nerd, admires George so much, that he used his high intellect and dirty tricks to put George in the Govenor's mansion, and then in the white house, thus ensuring Karl a long term job, and a physical and psychological closeness to the good looking guy, George, that Karl admired but could never be.

More damaging is the documentary blames Karl for creating a war, so George can stay in office for a second term. In other words, Karl used the Iraq war as a marketing tool for his client Mr. Bush.

This is a truly nefarious allegation - we'll go to war to stay in office for a second term, and to position George as the war president we cannot do without because of the terrorists.

I think this film gives too much power to Mr. Rove, after all he reports to someone, like a boss, so who is culpable.

Cleary the makers of this film fear the power and pranks of Mr. Rove, who may be a very dirty fighter, and may have used dirty tricks, but in their fear they have made the guy responsible for more than he probably is accountable for.

somewhat boring due to the talking heads format, but i enjoyed learning about Mr. Rowe and the republican election tricks.