Cheap Journeys With George (DVD) (Aaron Lubarsky, Alexandra Pelosi) Price

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Customer Reviews of Journeys With George

I believe Pelosi's original intention was to smear George W. Bush or show him to be a cretin, but Bush proves himself to be extremely personable and seems to endear himself to the press corps (and us) as the campaign rolls along. The documentary spares us too much commentary and just takes us along for the ride, as a good documentary should. Overall, "JWG" is a great behind the scenes look at an extraordinary man.

Liberal Media a Myth
This documentary is excellent as we witness Pelosi's first hand experience on the campaign trail of then Presidential candidate George W Bush. Contrary to the belief that mainstream media is liberally biased, we see that the reporters who traveled with Bush tended to favor him personally, and therefore were reluctant to seriously challenge him. We also understand that any questions that were considered challenging resulted in "punishment" from George W Bush. If he didn't appreciate a question (for example with regard to his execution record as Governor of Texas), then he would clam up and the reporter would not be able to get any access to futher information for reporting and stories. On the other hand, we learn that the reportors on the campaign trail with Al Gore, found him personally unlikable - and Gore's reportors therefore tended to cover him in a more negative manner. It is astounding that these men and their personal ability to charm carried a greater influence than policy or governing beliefs when it came to coverage by the media. This DVD is a must see...I found Bush's behavior personally revolting. He reminded me of a spoiled frat boy who always thinks he's the funniest guy in the room when we know he's not. Now this man is the Leader of the Free World. It's quite concerning to say the least.

Great little movie
I hesitate to call this a documentary, it's more a well-edited video diary, and should be judged as such. George Bush is humanized to a great degree, in a way we heard about but rarely ever saw (or see) in the never-ceasing effort to mythologize the man.

The relationship between the Governor and Pelosi is kind of sweet and unpretentious. Their encounter over her California absentee ballot, where GWB2 gives her some really amusing politician schtick about why she should vote for him is a great scene. The "Newsweek Man" flirtation theme was also great. One gets the sense that a lot of this press pool was very young, fairly inexperienced, and not nearly as sophisticated as they thought they were. The segues with the Texas print reporters (who, I think, were later responsible for the critical Rove bio "Bush's Brain") were also interesting, they actually knowing something about politics and about Bush. One gives an impromptu monologue analogizing Republican campaigns with a baloney sandwich that is priceless.

One of the most noticeable features is the absence of much real journalism being practiced by the press pool. The closest we get to that is the late revelation of Bush's DUI, and we see Karen Hughes skillfully handling that. She is rarely in the film, but comes across as impressive, especially vis-a-vis Rove's pomposity. But in actuality, the press pool spent most of the time going through the motions, messing around, and being bored in an extended tour. I think a lack of curiosity became their most prevalent trait.

So really, as is seen from the evident relief of other reviewers, this isn't by any means a Bush-bashing movie. Pelosi's liberal pedigree is clear from the start, and actually shapes her friendship with the Governor. He's a lot quicker than she is too, and she knows it. While there is a lot of tongue-in-cheek sequences poking fun at Bush-as-campaigner, most of the irony is directed at the travelling campaign circus, and we get a sense from Pelosi that she thinks of Bush and herself in a similar way: as sort of accidental participants in a fairly surreal process.

So Bush Fans, ever wary of a devious liberal media out to persecute them, can rest easy. JOURNEYS WITH GEORGE, in the end, really critiques the pseudo-journalism of the press pool, and its evident mediocrity. If anything, it goes far to puncture one cherished myth, that the press is of some coordinated liberal conspiracy to destroy their heroes. That requires competence and will. Pelosi's only departure from utter docility was to question Bush about Texas executions, and she quickly retreated to docility after that. One reviewer below apparently sees this sheep-tendency of campaign journalists, "knowing their bounds," as their duty. I tend to think a press obedient to the powerful is anti-thetical to the whole profession, and Pelosi's diary here is one example of why hundreds of millions of dollars are used to run campaigns that the majority of the country is only dimly aware of.