"Game Change" Movie Takeaways

[Yavin4]

1. Sarah Palin is far crazier than we know, and we avoided a huge fucking disaster in 2008.

2. Sarah Palin has a jersey for each team in the NHL.

3. I have respect for Nicole Wallace.

[Sienna86]

1. Will the movie be available outside of HBO?

What's up with the NHL jerseys?

[Yavin4]

3. She Wore Avalanche, Rangers, and Red Wings Jerseys

I don't get that either.

[TheOther95Percent]

8. It's the Hockey Mom thing.

Palin apparently ad libbed the line about the difference between a hockey mom and a pit bull. Lipstick. Hence the hockey jerseys.

[Myrina]

45. Playing to the audience ...

... a true hockey mom/hockey fan will have jerseys from and be loyal to one, maybe 2 teams - generally at different levels (college and pro, for example) ... not wear whatever she can get her paws on.


Take it from a REAL hockey mom

[Taverner]

60. A true Hockey MOM wears only her kids teams' jerseys

[Cosmocat]

55. I truly hate to stick up for the dimwit

I think that she got a lot of jerseys in the mail, and was just wearing that people were sending here.

[femmocrat]

2. It's a really good movie!

I didn't think I would be able to stand seeing so much of "her", but Julianne Moore is just wonderful in this role. Somehow she is way less annoying than the real Palin.

[Yavin4]

4. It's Fucking Excellent

Fucking excellent.

[Manifestor_of_Light]

11. She has the mannerisms down, but doesn't do the screechy voice.

That's why she's tolerable. She spent most of the movie looking like she was gonna barf from the tension. Julianne Moore really got the constant tension in her mouth and teeth, even when she is not speaking.

Oh, and the Biscuit from Ally McBeal (Peter MacNicol) and Ron Livingston from Office Space were good.

[noel711]

44. Tina Fey did the Palin voice better..

and i believe Tina (and Katie Courci) were responsible
for the unmasking of the beast.

[Laura PourMeADrink]

21. Gosh, I must be the only one who didn't think Moore was that great. I think Tina Fey

would have been far superior, if she just toned down the overt mockery down a notch.

I thought Moore's performance was forced and stilted.

[Nancy Waterman]

23. I agree

I was disappointed and found Moore unconvincing except in brief moments.

[RichGirl]

35. Then it was right on. Palin is forced and stilted!!!X

[Demoiselle]

39. I thought it was very very well done.

Great acting jobs, good script. But Ms. Moore could have exaggerated the accent a bit more....I didn't think her voice grated on my nerves as much as the real Palin's voice. Then again, she was probably a bit afraid of doing a parody. It's always been my impression that really good actors try very hard to empathize with the characters they're playing, even if said characters are evil.
Anyway, it was well worth watching.
Depressing as hell, but well worth watching.

[Old and In the Way]

5. This is more interesting than I thought it would be.

She was going into near catatonic lapses?

Fascinating that they decided she couldn't learn facts...so they had her memorize generic answers for the debate. After that debate, boy, did her ego get out of control. Looks like it became all about Sarah. McCain worried about her turning on him. What a scary person she was.

[Liberal_Stalwart71]

25. I didn't understand why her ego got so big because Biden beat her in that debate.

Maybe the bar was set so low for her that all she had to do was meet that low standard.

[sammytko]

27. It was all the "Sarah, Sarah, Sarah" yells coming from supporters

That gave her the big head. They came to see HER! The crazies, you know.

[avebury]

6. It is interesting that they have McCain at the end telling Palin to not let the

extremists co-opt her because that will tear apart the party.

[TheOther95Percent]

10. Who knew McCain would be so prescient?

One of the extremists McCain tells Palin to stay away from is Limbaugh.

[CoffeeCat]

13. Yes, and that's exactly what Palin did...

McCain told her that she was "a hockey mom who cares" and told her not to allow
the extremists in the party to co-opt her.

And now look who's on Fox News. They prop her up as if she's some kind of Oracle--with
Hannity giving the intro about what Sarah will be discussing, then he "interviews" her as
if she's some repository of world news. OMG...I knew it was a farce before--but this movie
shows just how utterly preposterous it really is.

Interesting, as you said, that McCain told Palin that those right-wing lunatic forces
would destroy the party.

That's exactly what they've done--and they are doing. And Palin is right in there
with them.

She's a complete tool.

[Major Hogwash]

32. Did you say " . . . as if she's some kind of Oracle . . ."?

That's exactly what they did.
And now there's that reference to The Matrix.
And now you know why their plugs have to be pulled.

When Limbaugh gets kicked off of the radio, voilà, same result.

[CreekDog]

56. that was a fascinating moment

and him referring to Limbaugh as an extremist was interesting.

i also thought his restraint because of what W did to his adopted daughter was interesting.

[LaurenG]

62. his restraint because of what W did to his adopted daughter? Remind me

I don't think I saw this part or something. Thanks.

[CreekDog]

63. When he wouldn't do ads on Rev. Wright --he wasn't going to run a campaign against a black minister

the other was when McCain explain to his daughter what came up when she googled her own name --that W's campaign called her a black child, etc.

[LaurenG]

64. Oh Ok thanks.

[aaaaaa5a]

9. Game Change was scary....

Seriously think about how relatively close someone as flat out mentally disturbed and ignorant as Sarah Palin is, came to be President of the United States. Its horrifying.

It is equally scary how to this day she is deeply loved by about 35% of the public. If she were the GOP nominee, she would win 40% of the vote and carry every state in the deep south.


And finally....


What does it say when people (Nicole Wallace) work their heart out for a campaign, telling millions of people who to vote for, when privately they are so scared of their own ticket that they don't vote themselves?

[Old and In the Way]

12. That might be the most important message in the film.

Someone who was tasked with preparing Palin for the media interviews realizes that Palin has neither the intellectual capacity nor the temperament to do the job. We barely survived with 8 years of Bush...Palin could have been, if the situation developed, an ever worse President than Dimson, as hard as that is to imagine.

[CoffeeCat]

14. That was my takeaway...

...and I posted this on another "Game Changer" thread.

I'm just so pissed that ALL OF THEM knew that Palin was: Crazy, imbalanced, ignorant, narcissistic, completely unaware of basic history and foreign policy, selfish, fake and dangerous.

Yet, they continued on with the campaign--knowing that she could be the Vice President of our country.

Yeah, Nicole Wallace couldn't even vote for the McCain ticket because Palin was on it--but yet they were all willing to allow her to become vice president and cause untold damage.

McCain was 72. The risks were too great that she could have ascended to the Presidency. They all knew she had these catatonic episodes and that she is deranged.

Bothers me that campaigns are such a farce and that the people in this universe don't seem to give a rip about the consequences of their egos.

[Scuba]

17. +1 So much for 'country first'.

[Texas-Limerick]

65. Palin's historic bus tour

Please don't revise history for her
Another brain fart we all concur
Laden with more trouble
In her skull a new bubble
Now headed for Boston's Pearl Harbor

[cabot]

15. Loved it

Julianne Moore did an amazing job. I actually felt bad for McCain. I've never agreed with his policies but the movie made me feel bad for him. He was completely fucked over by his campaign staff and their monstrous creation from Wasila.

[Laura PourMeADrink]

22. I think Schmidt tried to tell McCain, didn't he? I actually fell asleep in the middle of the

movie. Just seemed like a group of people whose sole purpose was to "make it happen". McCain struck
me as a "hands off" "old school" type of manager. Like, I don't want to know the details. The
whole thing too was evolutionary. It took them a while to fully realize she was nuts. Didn't they
have a plan to pull her somehow if McCain actually won?

[K Gardner]

41. If they had such a plan, it wasn't revealed in the movie. You

fell asleep? LOL. I do that all the time during Hardball. Not sure why. I really like Chris these days, but about 30 mins into the show I'm toast. Works better than a sleeping pill. I've learned to put on the DVR for 5 pm.

[aint_no_life_nowhere]

16. And apparently John McCain says "fuck" a lot in private

[KharmaTrain]

18. And Enjoys His Libations...

...seemed his home office was loaded with bottles...always having a "cocktail". What braincells he didn't lose in the Hanoi Hilton he lost to Jack Daniels...

[sofa king]

19. During the 2000 primaries...

...Karl Rove's people were making it clear that, should McCain ever threaten to take the nomination from Shrub, they were going to play the booze and women card, and that would be it for McCain.

From the mouth of a Bush Ranger, or whatever they called their money-gatherers, I heard something very close to, "That alcoholic, tail-chasing son of a bitch will never be President."

I remember laughing it off at the time, much like I find myself wishing to laugh these days, thinking, "neither one of those fools has a chance against a straight-up guy like Al Gore."

And now I live in poverty. The end.

[Laura PourMeADrink]

20. Very interesting.

[ellisonz]

54. Cindy McCain is an alcohol heiress.

On a spring day at a speedway in the South, John McCain posed with his wife, Cindy, and racing star Dale Earnhardt Jr., highlighting the couple's political and business interests in a single snapshot.

McCain served as honorary starter of the NASCAR race that weekend in Charlotte, N.C. Earnhardt drove the Budweiser car, painted military camouflage, rather than its trademark red, to honor the troops.

Budweiser, then NASCAR's official beer, is brewed by Anheuser-Busch Cos. Inc., whose products have made Cindy McCain and her family a fortune.

--------

As heiress to her father's stake in Hensley & Co. of Phoenix, Cindy McCain is an executive whose worth may exceed $100 million. Her beer earnings have afforded the GOP presidential nominee a wealthy lifestyle with a private jet and vacation homes at his disposal, and her connections helped him launch his political career - even if the millions remain in her name alone. Yet the arm's-length distance between McCain and his wife's assets also has helped shield him from conflict-of-interest problems.

More: http://www.cbsnews.com/2100-250_162-3991700.html

[K Gardner]

40. On Fox, McCain denied watching the movie but stated:

"People have told me I curse a lot in the movie. I don't curse. You can't believe any of that fucking bullshit."

(OK, I made up the quote but he did say he never cursed, ergo, you can't believe anything in the movie)

[beac]

49. Yes, men who "never curse" OFTEN call their wives the c-word.

McCain is not just a liar, but a damn liar, apparently.

[Liberal_Stalwart71]

24. Here are my thoughts...

The movie was fantastic! I think they should have spent more time on how vicious she was during her rallies and the racism that went unchecked. They should've delved into her life just a little bit more. They let her off the hook.

As for McCain, I never knew that it was he who insisted that Palin was the choice. I thought that it was pushed on him from the likes of Bill Kristol and the other neocons who thought she was cute and could be controlled/puppet. Turns out that Schmidt, Wallace and Davis did not want her from the very beginning. I liked the portrayal of Steve Schmidt. I will view him differently from now on when I see him on MSNBC. He apparently didn't want the job, but it was his negligence that ultimately gave us all Sarah Palin.

But, overall, I really enjoyed the movie and would watch again.

The most poignant part of the movie for me was at the end when John McCain warned her not to align herself with Rush Limbaugh and the other extremists; they will destroy the Republican Party. It was prophetic. Sadly, neither McCain nor Palin headed his own advice. John McCain is a huge disappointment. He's a bitter, old man who sold himself out to the extremists.

[KharmaTrain]

43. Gramps Wanted Lieberman

There the scene in the movie of McCain, Lieberman and Graham drinking it up on the plane. They were the ultimate party buddies/senate road warriors. Palin's name appears to have come through Randy Shuenneman (sp) who was the dude in the movie with the thick beard..."foreign affairs expert" who gave Gramps the disastrous advice during the Georgia invasion. Looks like Schmidt was sold on Palin more for the "game change" aspect and pushed it on McCain and it wasn't until after the selection was made that he found out what damaged goods he got. By then it was too late...no one wanted to have another Thomas Eagleton...and looks like we almost did.

It's been amusing reading the few wingnut critiques of the film (of people who actually watched it). A right wing friend of mine did and thought it was very well done. Others went to the tin foil...pointing out the amounts of money Hanks, Harris and Harrelson have given to Democratic candidates and causes and how Schmidt and Wallace were "Romney plants"...supposedly they had worked for Willard and that they were the ones who derailed the entire campaign not to hurt McCain but to destroy Palin.

[Liberal_Stalwart71]

50. Thanks for setting the record straight.

I didn't even realize that it was LIEberman and Graham on the plane. They got horrible actors for that scene.

I just need to read the book myself. Interesting they made a movie of this fiasco; as I understand it, most of the book was about the Hillary/Obama debacle.

As for Wallace and Schmidt being Romney plants, it doesn't appear to me that Schmidt is much of a Romney fan as an MSNBC commentator. He doesn't seem too thrilled that Romney will be the nominee; he's just trying to get in line with the party's nominee.

I see Nicole Wallace in a different light now. The actress they got looks nothing like Nicole, but she did the good job. I probably don't agree with Wallace much on anything, but I do admire the fact that she attempted to keep her principles intact.

[Bluenorthwest]

57. Actually, the guy playinig Joe was Austin Pendelton, a true great.

The fact that he was in the role tells us that the role got edited, there was more which we did not get to see or he'd not get offered it nor take it.
Among other things, Austin is too funny for words in 'What's Up Doc'.

[Liberal_Stalwart71]

58. I taped the movie again so that I could watch! I didn't even realize this!

Thanks!!

[Liberal_Stalwart71]

26. One more thing: I have much respect for Steven Schmidt if he really is like he was portrayed

in the movie.

I appreciated that he stood up to Palin. When she wanted to lie about her trial in Alaska, he told her that she was being untruthful. When she wanted to lie about other things, he said no even though she did anyway.

And McCain: he got desperate, not wanting to bring up Rev. Wright or Bill Ayers. Eventually they had to go that route because they were losing. So they put Sarah Palin on it. John McCain clearly didn't seem comfortable at those rallies when people were shouting racist epitaphs and yelling "kill him"! If McCain had any shame at all, he would have tamped it down.

[Pisces]

28. I came away thinking the McCain team was a bunch of fucking incompetents for not vetting her.

She was in no way capable of turning down the offer or capable of assessing how unprepared she was for the job.
It is incredible that they did not make her step down due to family issues ( made up crisis with the baby) anything. I have never
liked Nicole Wallace, but to know that she could not pull the lever for Palin makes me respect her.

[K Gardner]

29. I found a whole new level of respect for McCain.. maybe it

was a movie-makers ploy, but he seemed to be the only decent one in the whole bunch. He didn't WANT to smear Obama.. the actor looked genuinely concerned when the audiences became 'crazy-scary'.. he's the one suggested Palin and her family be reunited when she was close to breakdown. It didn't show him lashing out and blaming anyone for the Palin-mistake.

I dunno.. I was really angry at him during the campaign in 2008; but now I wonder if he was as much a victim of the "game" as everyone else is who tosses their hats into the ring. All in all, I thought it made McCain look decent.

[K Gardner]

36. OK. I'm taking back the above statement. Just saw McCain on

Chris Wallace and he's a douche. The movie must have been overly-sympathetic towards him

He should watch it, instead of bashing something he hasn't seen and continuing to say "Sarah Palin was the best qualified candidate".

[CreekDog]

59. it could be that whomever provided deep background was sympathetic to McCain and Schmidt

there was no getting away from the fact that their hasty, risky choice of Palin was a disaster.

however the parts of the story that follow are quite sympathetic to, most to McCain, Schmidt, and Wallace especially.

i don't doubt that the story is true, but i can read between the lines and think that perhaps some of the sources were anxious to have some of the higher ups in the campaign look better than the results of the campaign would make them look. also, because these people are savvy and Palin is not, make sure that in the final analysis, that all that went wrong in the campaign would be blamed more on Palin than them --even though, in a sense, she was more their fault than her own.

i thought it was a terrific movie, a fascinating story and that Harrelson was terrific --i imagine he had a lot of fun with the part. he got to tell Palin off in some fun soliloquys.

[Arkana]

48. I didn't--in fact, I lost respect for him.

After the Gibson and Couric debacles, McCain didn't tell Palin she didn't prepare well enough--he went and blamed the "liberal media".

His one Anakin Skywalker moment was the concession speech, where for a moment he looked like the McCain of 2000-2003. Then he veered hard right on immigration and on torture until he was indistinguishable from the teabagger plague now infecting Congress. McCain is officially part of the problem now--he gets no sympathy from me.

[K Gardner]

52. Agreed. I re"thunk" my position ! n/t

[AtomicKitten]

30. McCain after viewing O's Berlin speech: "He heals a sick baby and we're really f*cked."

[CTyankee]

33. You know, Obama has such a way with calming babies down, I wouldn't be surprised if he did.

I think McCain "got" it about Obama's charisma with that statement. It's interesting...

[grantcart]

31. Politicians watch MSNBC a lot.

http://blackhistory.com/cgi-bin/blog.cgi?blog_id=227677&cid=10


“Sir, you’ve got to stop watching Keith Olbermann or Fox for that matter. It’s all just bullsh*t.”

“F*ck CBS and f*ck their instant poll.”

“I can’t get [McCain] to stop watching MSNBC, which only makes him more miserable.”



a lot of things that were on DU first and then on MSNBC a day later ended up going right to the campaign.

They were seriously spooked by Todd and the membership in the Alaskan Independence Party, for example

And finally, whoever the Republicans pick this year is going to have one hell of a vetting.

[Chiyo-chichi]

34. Did she really think the queen is the head of government in England?

I don't remember hearing that one. Was that in the book?

[avebury]

37. The people behind the movie did additional research. That was how they found

out that Nicole Wallace did not vote, information that was not in the book.

[HeiressofBickworth]

38. I did not intend to watch Game Change

but as I was flipping through the channels, there it was. And like a train-wreck, I just couldn't take my eyes off it.

I have always thought we avoided great disaster. Palin, while stupid and uninformed, is also dangerously determined to do things her way. As a candidate, they had some control over her, but as VP, she would be out of any kind of control. She had no problem opposing McCain's policies and opinions.

Now I wish she would just evaporate into obscurity.

[Shannon1981]

42. She is a moron.

A dangerous moron. We already knew she was stupid, but we didn't know HOW stupid. The sad thing is, though, all over the net today, she has defenders. People are saying this is spin, that Wallace and Schmidt are disgruntled former staffers, that "Team Obama" and "Liberal Hollywood" are out to get her..
etc
etc
etc

However, if you watch the movie, and compare it to her major gaffes, along with what we all know of that campaign, it makes perfect sense. It explains everything. They had NOT A FUCKING CLUE who this bitch was, and yet they were ready to put her a heartbeat away from running this country, just for conservative win. To me, that alone, no matter all the rest we have learned, is totally and completely unforgivable. Nicole Wallace is the only one I have any respect for, because, even while working on the campaign, she couldn't bring herself to vote right.

[RebelOne]

51. In my opinion, any one who blasts away

animals for sport is ultra stupid.

[Shannon1981]

53. I second that sentiment.

[Arkana]

46. I felt really bad for Nicolle Wallace and Mark Salter.

Wallace just got her ass handed to her, and Salter--you could tell he was never on board with the Palin thing to begin with.

Steve Schmidt, on the other hand, deserved what he got. Woody Harrelson was fantastic, though.

[Shannon1981]

47. Schmidt did it.

He is the one we have to blame for siccing this idiot of a woman on this nation. What gets me is this: why, after he discovered that she was an idiot, not to mention unstable, did he try to pull this off? This could have ruined this nation. It is not an unreasonable assumption that the stress of the office would have made the old man have some major health problems, leaving Palin in charge. That is astronomically irresponsible. No words to what that man did. And, what's worse, I'll link the original interview at the bottom. He still believes that if she hadn't been on the ticket, they'd have had an even greater loss. So, yes, he deserved what he got.

http://www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?id=6078906n&tag=contentMain;contentBody

original 60 minutes interview.

[ellisonz]

61. Welcome to DU!