Four More Years

The TVTV guerilla journalism really showed a less polished, more raw version of Nixon's re-election campaign compared to network coverage. It was clever how TVTV was able to catch some important figures off-guard, in a more candid setting, and I think that was their goal.

There were many scenes showing the enthusiasm people had for Nixon, including scenes at rallies, and at the convention. The interviews with young people were the most interesting. The segment reminded me of Michael Moore, since they almost seemed to be trying to provoke the young people by repeatedly asking whether they were paid/coerced to campaign for Nixon, but the young people always vehemently denied that was true. It's ironic that the Watergate scandal broke soon after and revealed that there was some pretty blatant political manipulation going on. The part with the Nixonettes was also revealing. When the leader said something like "It's going to be fun, can't you tell by these decorations?" I had to burst out laughing.

Something else that impressed me was the political savvy of Nixon's children in his campaign, and the tactics used by the videographers really revealed that. TVTV was able to question his children without prior notice, but they were very well informed on policy issues and spoke intelligently.

The wide variety of perspectives TVTV was able to capture was astonishing. From the saccharine happiness of hardcore Nixon supporters to the burnt out despair of the Vietnam war vets to the bemused and bored network journalists, this documentary gave a very complete sense of the atmosphere at the time. And while it was clearly not a professional group, they asked some very piercing questions, were able to get unrehearsed answers, and to get close to famous figures like Henry Kissinger and Sammy Davis Jr., which is an accomplisment in itself. And to do all of this while being able to maintain a fairly objective perspective is even more admirable.