Bush's Brain (2004)

Directors:

Joseph Mealey
Michael Shoob

Writers:

James C. Moore (book)
Wayne Slater (book)

Genre:

Documentary

Plot:

An examination of political consultant Karl Rove's influence on George W. Bush's candidacy. |

Plot Keywords:

George W. Bush | FBI | Wiretapping | U.S. President | Saddam Hussein

Cast

Lee Atwater	...	Himself (archive footage)
Osama Bin Laden	...	Himself (archive footage)
Cathy Bonner	...	Herself
Bruce Buchanan	...	Himself
Barbara Bush	...	Herself (archive footage)
George Bush	...	Himself (archive footage)
George W. Bush	...	Himself (archive footage)
Laura Bush	...	Herself (archive footage)
Max Cleland	...	Himself
William P. Clements Jr.	...	Himself (archive footage)
Bill Clinton	...	Himself (archive footage)
Shirley Cuff	...	Herself
Gray Davis	...	Himself (archive footage)
Alan Dixon	...	Himself (archive footage)
Robert Edgeworth	...	Himself
Kent Hance	...	Himself
Jim Hightower	...	Himself (archive footage)
Saddam Hussein	...	Himself (archive footage)
Bill Israel	...	Himself
Molly Ivins	...	Herself
Richard Leiby	...	Himself
Wade Lieseke Jr.	...	Himself
Susie Lieseke	...	Herself
Ken Luce	...	Himself
Garry Mauro	...	Himself
John McCain	...	Himself (archive footage)
Chuck McDonald	...	Himself
Dave McNeely	...	Himself
Bill Miller	...	Himself
Mike Moeller	...	Himself
James C. Moore	...	Himself
Jesse Oliver	...	Himself
Tom Pauken	...	Himself
Rick Perry	...	Himself (archive footage)
Chelle Lieseke Pokorney	...	Herself
Fredrick E. Pokorney	...	Himself (archive footage)
Ross Ramsey	...	Himself
Ann Richards	...	Herself (archive footage)
Karl Rove	...	Himself
A.R. Schwartz	...	Himself
Wayne Slater	...	Himself
Glenn Smith	...	Himself
Karl Struble	...	Himself
Jacques Vroom	...	Narrator
John Weaver	...	Himself
Mark White	...	Himself (archive footage)
Joseph Wilson	...	Himself

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for brief strong language.

Runtime:

80 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Certification:

Singapore:PG | USA:PG-13

Company:

BeBe Films Inc.

Underhanded from the very beginning.

I learned about Karl Rove when I read a book called 'Boy Genius: Karl Rove, the Brains Behind the Remarkable Political Triumph of George W. Bush,' so I already knew most of what Bush's Brain had to say, but I couldn't resist checking it out, since Bush makes himself such an easy target for attacks on his intelligence. In the wake of Bush's historic success in managing to win a second term as the United States President after being elected for the first time, it seems that we have not seen an end to documentaries like this, which are now coming in just about equal force from both sides. It's just too bad that both sides resort to dirty and often unfair and dishonest tactics, especially when they are accusing the other side of dirty tricks that they go on to use in that same movie (seen FahrenHYPE 9/11 yet? WOW).

Who is Bush's Brain focuses on the actions of the Bush administration that can easily be traced to someone other than George W. Bush. Karl Rove, who has run vicious and underhanded campaigns almost since the day that he became involved in politics, is clearly revealed as the power behind the throne, most disturbingly in a creepy dissolve from a smiling picture of Bush to a scary, sneering picture of Rove. He truly is a frightening man, even beyond his tactics.

This is an interesting political documentary that doesn't take sides as strongly as many others, although it is not ambiguous about its intent to portray a Bush as a puppet for other people, most notably Karl Rove and Dick Cheney, which is difficult to argue with given how the administration has been run so far. Unfortunately, the movie strays from its intent when it presents the story of a family of an American killed in Iraq. Tragic story and one that certainly holds merit and should be seen, but that's just not what this movie is about. We can make the connection to such stories after this movie tells us about who is really in charge behind Bush, we don't need it thrust in our faces.

That being said, as the mess in Iraq gets worse and worse and the President continues to ignore the escalating damage being done to that country as well as our own, it is interesting to wonder what kinds of documentaries will be released during his second term attacking his handling of that situation. For now, here are some theories as to where the real responsibility may lie.