Lee Atwater with George Bush Sr. in 1988.I don't know if it will play all month, but check your local listings for the documentary called Boogie Man: The Lee Atwater Story on Frontline on PBS.
This is a great documentary about Lee Atwater, a man who rose from obscurity in South Carolina to be come one of the most polarizing figures in modern politics before dying from a brain tumor at 40 years old in 1991.
Atwater is called the "architect of the negative campaign," using tactics like push polls, "independent" negative ads and anonymous stories in the media to help the Republican Party win several campaigns in the 80s (including Regan in 84 and Bush in 88).
To put it in simpler terms, he was Karl Rove before Karl Rove (who is Atwater's protege coincidentally).
If you want to know how things like Rev. Wright and "Swiftboat politics" became the norm in campaigns, this is a must see.
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