One Bright Shining Moment: The Forgotten Summer of George McGovern (NR)

synopsis

A chronicle retracing George McGovern's bold presidential campaign of 1972 -- a grassroots campaign that fought for peace and justice; a campaign that positioned ideas and people first; and, for a myriad of reasons, a campaign that was crushed in workman-like fashion by the Butcher from Whittier, Richard Nixon. The tragedy of the '72 campaign is this: George McGovern might have been the only candidate in our modern era to run for President who truly understood what an incredible monument America could be to the human race. Without a doubt he was the most honest. This film poses this central thought: the ultimate political defeat of the American Century may also be its high watermark. And if so, what does that say about the electoral process, the American government, and more importantly, what does it say about the forces at work on the American people--then and now?