Two Words, One Answer.
Republican Debate
 American Feud: A History of Conservatives and Liberals $15.00 This is not an easy review to write, because I have really mixed feelings about this documentary. On the positive side, I enjoyed watching it; and it addresses a subject that really needs to be addressed: the meaning and significance of the labels "liberal" and "conservative" in modern American politics. To the best of my knowledge, no other documentary film adequately explores this issue. This film provides some very useful information; and it tries to be fairly evenhanded in its treatment of this controversial topic. This film would probably be suitable for use in high school civics classes, or perhaps even in freshman-level college courses in American Government. However, it is far too superficial for use in upper-level college courses. There are some significant negatives to this documentary. First, the treatment is too subjective: Basically, prominent "liberals" and "conservatives" are interviewed about their understanding of what these terms signify. There is no real attempt to come up with a genuinely objective definition of "liberalism" or "conservatism" (if such a thing is even possible). This documentary tells us how (some) liberals view conservatives and how (some) conservatives view liberals, and how (some) liberals and conservatives view themselves; but it doesn't tell us what "liberalism" and "conservatism" really mean. Nor does it explore the many varieties of liberalism and conservatism; or any political viewpoint other than liberalism and conservatism. And it doesn't even attempt to address the highly controversial question of WHY some people become "liberals" while others become "conservatives". The second significant negative is that, although the film tries to be evenhanded, there is a noticeable imbalance between left and right in the interviews. There are more "conservative" voices than "liberal" voices; and the conservative voices come mainly from the center right (with a few from the far right), while the liberal voices come mainly from the far left (with a few from the center left). The most prominent "liberal" voice in this documentary is Noam Chomsky, who is far to the left of mainstream American liberalism. (He is better characterized as an anarcho-socialist radical than as a "liberal".) The effect of this imbalance is to leave the false impression that conservatism (as a whole) is more centrist than liberalism (as a whole). The remaining shortcomings of this documentary are less significant -- forgivable annoyances rather than fatal flaws. For one thing, they make far too big a deal over the colors that have come to represent liberalism and conservatism since the 2000 election: "blue state" liberals vs. "red state" conservatives. Apparently, some conservatives are upset with this color scheme, on the grounds that red has traditionally represented socialism (which they equate with liberalism), while blue has traditionally been associated with Tory conservatism. This is a non-issue for liberals; but it really seems to bug some conservatives. This documentary panders to the whiners on this trivial point, and re-colors its electoral maps purple and yellow instead of red and blue. My final complaint is that this video tries to be too cutesy by featuring two little kids wearing donkey and elephant masks as representations of the Democratic and Republican parties. While the intended effect was to try to keep the tone of the documentary light, the actual effect is to make it seem cheesy and amateurish. Although there are aspects of this documentary that I really like, its many shortcomings preclude me from giving it a wholehearted recommendation. I'd say it merits a grade of B-minus.  Charlie Rose - Charlie Rose Special Edition: The Candidates (December 4, 2007) $24.95 Charlie Rose Special Edition: The Candidates. An hour with Fred Thompson.This product is manufactured on demand using DVD-R recordable media. Amazon.com's standard return policy will apply.  Republican Candidate Richard Nixon During Televised Debate with Democratic Candidate John F Kennedy Photographic Poster Print by Paul Schutzer, 12x16 $49.99 Art.com is the world's largest retailer of art prints, posters, photographs, and framed artwork. With our huge selection of over 400,000 prints, you'll easily find the perfect piece for your home, office, or classroom. Our art is printed on quality paper. When you order framed artwork, the piece is built by our team of in-house professionals. 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