From my perspective, the story of the most recent years in American politics have been extraordinary: an unusually intelligent, and moderately left-wing President, has been baulked and demonised by an opposition party whose positions on most issues lie well outside the norm for right-of-centre parties in other affluent democracies. The documentary tells the story of the Obama administration with extensive interviews with those involved, including the President himself. It's very interesting, but not perfect: it both gives you the impression that everything that happened inside the White House was driven by pure heart and common purpose, while (perhaps inevitably for a BBC documentary) not explicitly making the case quite how anomalous the Republican party has become by international standards, or exploring why it is that that party can still win sufficient Congressional seats to remain an effective political force. Compared with, say, the BBC's famous documentary series on Margaret Thatcher, there's much less of a sense conveyed of flawed human beings fighting over idealogical differences, and more one of a near-perfect leader grappling with inexplicable but honourable opponents. Still, I'm convinced that we'll miss Obama when he's gone; the insanity of the current race to replace him makes this point only too clearly.
Review of Inside Obama's White House
