Left unanswered: who was clamoring for this movie to be made and why?

Related: It’s been brought to our attention that Hugh Jackman is close friends with Ivana Trump and Jared Kushner AND he’s the godfather of none other than Rupert Murdoch’s children (which ones by which wife, feel free to look up for family values fun).

He’s obviously one of those phony assholes that’s completely different in reality than his public persona, and he’s permanently canceled.

I met Gary Hart, back in 1984. He was touring college campuses, so of course he visited Bellingham. He was focused on important, not so obvious stuff (drawing analogies with the Maginot line was one of his talking points). I didn't think he was the smartest guy running at the time, but he certainly wasn't a pinhead, nor did he talk down to his audience.

This was a turning point in how the press treated politicians. But it started with Watergate. Prior to Watergate, the press knew about all the fucking going on (FRD, JFK, Ike) but never reported on any of it. It wasn't anyone's business. Then Watergate hit. This rattled the press. Here was a major scandal, and it was happening right under their nose. Very few knew about it, and many of the early reports seemed crazy, and an exaggeration. A few years later, and every reporter not only wanted the story, but didn't want to be scooped. Not only about a real scandal, but about the President saying crazy, offensive shit (which Nixon did a lot of) or fucking someone they shouldn't (which pretty much covers everyone else). That meant that dalliances were fair game.

Hart would have made a great candidate in 2004, but was weaker in 2008. This is another trend. Reagan was the last president to be elected after a failed run (I'm excluding V.P.s). Prior to 1980 it was routine. But the trend has been towards less and less experienced candidates, and if you run and fail, you are out (which is why Hillary Clinton, if she runs, won't come close to being nominated).

I won't ruin the movie for those who forget (or don't know) their history, but it is an interesting story. History didn't change, but it did represent two important turning points, if not three. We have moved towards more banal, stupid phrase campaigns ("Where is the beef?", "Hope and change"), while every tiny bit of personal history is fair game and experience is a disadvantage.