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HBO’s “Game Change” Facts Debunked, And The Numbers Are In

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One would have to be living in a cave to not have known about HBO’s recent depiction of Governor Palin in their movie, “Game Change.” The movie was based on two chapters in a book by John Heilemann and Mark Halperin of the same name. Tom Hanks, of all people, produced this hit piece on the former governor. To say I have lost all respect for the man is an understatement. (Poster credit: HBO)

And then there was Julianne Moore on The Ellen Show claiming that the incidents had been fact checked in a major way. I’m sorry, but if Sarah Palin was truly alone and in a fetal position, WHO would have known that? Never mind that it is a crock of hooey, but really – the license taken with the “facts” of  a movie that is a “docudrama,” but being treated like a documentary, is just startling. But there you have it.

HBO is just GLEEFUL at the numbers they got on viewership of this movie: 2.123 million viewers, according to this Washington Post article (h/t Crawdad Hole). Wowie zowie. Let me do some math here – the average attendance of the NY Yankees games in 2011 was 45, 441.  The viewership for this “docudrama” was less than the total attendance of 50 NY Yankees games.

But there is more from this WaPo article:

To put the audience in perspective, that’s slightly fewer people than sat down the next afternoon at 2 to watch a rerun episode of History’s “Pawn Stars” (2.129 million viewers).

Over the course of the weekend, multiple telecasts of “Game Change” — which chronicles the decision of Republican Sen. John McCain’s campaign to campaign with the little-known Alaskan governor as his presidential running mate — averaged a cumulative 3.6 million viewers. That’s slightly more than half the number of people who watched an original episode of History’s “Pawn Stars” last Monday night at 10.(Click here to read the rest.)

To further put this in perspective, even after “Sarah Palin’s Alaska” LOST viewers, it still had more than this movie. By a lot, I might add.

But here’s the thing that really must be said about this movie: it did not reflect the person Sarah Palin was, or is, according to those aides who worked closest with her. For space alone, I cannot include all of this article, “More ‘Game Change’ Fallout: ‘Staffers Talk Just To Save Their Asses,’” and I highly recommend you read the entire article. Suffice it to say, those who really DID work closely with her, to a person, say this movie does not reflect the woman they know at all. What is more, they TOLD the writer of the movie, Danny Strong, all of this, and he chose to ignore it. Who did the writer Strong  choose to listen to? A man named Steve Schmidt, a “bully,” according to the article:

Well, now we know who one of those bomb-throwing cowards is, Steve Schmidt, who HBO portrays as the calm, cool, reasonable hero of the film. In real life, however, it’s no secret that he was the “super-genius” behind (“Schmidt pushed for going all in“) the moment polls prove really lost the 2008 election; when Senator McCain foolishly decided to suspend his campaign and run back to DC to save the economy. Yes, it was Steve Schmidt who “pushed” to have McCain charge off on a white horse without having any idea as to where he was charging off to. McCain went to DC without a plan, looked feckless and reckless, and never recovered. “Game Change” blames the campaign’s loss on Palin, but that’s a total and complete fabrication.

Wow. What a surprise. A man described as a “bully,” “a screamer,” and “foul mouthed” is engaging in massive CYA, and Hollywood is all too ready to buy his BS, despite the numerous other reports from people who spent far more time with the governor. That sounds about right. Except that it is very wrong, according to those truly in the know:

“There are inaccuracies. Julianne Moore as Sarah saying she won’t stand on the stage with anyone who was pro-choice? Please. I was on Sarah’s plane. Small plane. No first-class section or anything. I’d written the women’s rights speech the night before but couldn’t be with her or give it directly to her because, although she was in the next hotel room in Reno, it had first to be faxed to McCain’s people in DC before she even saw it.

“I was paid $50,000 a month to teach her women’s rights and craft the speech. She has a photographic memory. …

“This 30-minute Henderson, Nev., talk she scanned. It was on YouTube. And that stage held pro-choice women. Sarah carried the whole operation. No venue could hold the crowds — 10,000 trying to get into a stadium for 3,000 people.”

Just out of curiosity, who here knew that Gov. Palin has a photographic memory? Anyone?  The percentage of people who have a photographic (or “eidetic,” as it is officially called) memory is very low, especially in adults.

To the point Moore made, anyone who knows anything at all about Gov. Palin knows that is blatantly false from the get-go. Palin is pro-contraception and thinks the Morning After pill should be legal, something she stated to Katie Couric in that infamous interview.

But wait, there’s more refutation to this hit job by Hanks and Company by those who actually do know the Governor, like Meg Stapleton:

In 2008 I served as senior advisor and spokesperson to the McCain/Palin campaign and I remain in that position through my tenure with SarahPAC.

[...]

He (Schmidt) is abusive.  He is abrasive and he is nothing short of a world class bully and his threats are just—they’re a mile long and deep.

[...]

I have known Governor Palin longer than anyone here—certainly longer than anyone in the campaign.  We worked closely together for a number of years and during Governor Palin’s most stressful time, in her professional life and her personal life, whether it was creating an infrastructure for a natural gas pipeline, pushing oil and gas companies to their limits, scrutiny over the entrance to a national campaign overnight, the campaign itself, the debate, a book deal, numerous entertainment offers, a resignation of writing the book, we worked closely together.  Working together, sometimes living together, living with her family and hers with mine—never before, during or after that campaign, never, ever, did I see the kind of behavior described at the end of the 2008 election, in the Game Change book, or what we have seen, read, or heard about in this movie.  Like all the others, I’ve not been granted access to it and nobody with the book and nobody with the movie contacted me either.

Oh, come on – what could she possibly know of the Governor, having lived with her and all? Sheesh! Ahem.

And Ms. Stapleton, along with the others, make an important point: none of them, including Palin, were allowed – ALLOWED – to see the movie before it aired. That, to me, is telling in and of itself.

As for the depiction of Gov. Palin as being despondent, ending up in a fetal position on the floor, her attorney, Tom Van Fein, had something to say about that, too:

I was Governor Palin’s attorney from August, 2008 through December, 2010.  I was directly involved in certain campaign issues, most critically what’s been referred to as Trooper-Gate.

Because of that, I had had regular and sustained daily contact with Governor Palin during the 2008 campaign.  I traveled on the plane with her, sat next to her at times, and I worked for hours with her.  We reviewed thousands of pages of documents in preparing for her deposition and in dealing with the accusations that were then being made and the person that I worked with and the person that I represented was very focused, diligent, and sharp.  She was motivated and enthusiastic about the campaign and enthusiastic and motivated to exonerate herself, which she did, from the false allegations that Mr. Wooten.

What you saw from her publicly at rallies and at other public events is essentially what you saw privately, if you got a chance to spend time with her privately the way we did.  She was engaged, optimistic, mastering the events and the facts of the day and all of my interactions with her, she showed leadership and resolve and was very much engaged in the entire process in a very optimistic manner exactly as you saw at the rallies and elsewhere. (Emphasis mine.)

So to the extent—and I have not seen the movie obviously or read the book, but to the extent there are any allegations that somehow behind the scenes she was not cogent or depressed or somehow lethargic or not responsive, I can categorically say that that’s false and whoever said that made that up entirely.

That is all to say, the people who know her, really know her, who walked through the 2008 campaign with her, have a VASTLY different opinion of her than this hatchet job movie takes. Only those who have already been told they should hate Palin buy any of this BS. Those of us who didn’t buy into the rumors know better (and my all-time favorite rumor was that she banned the book, “Harry Potter,” while mayor of Wasilla. Just one little problem with that – it hadn’t been written yet. Oops.) Again, there is so much more to this article, and I hope you read all of it, including the reflections by others who actually  worked with her on the campaign.

Bottom line, this HBO production was nothing more than a hatchet job on a former opponent of VP-candidate Joe Biden. Oh, I mean, Barack Obama. (You know, I am still trying to figure out why Obama always went after the VP candidate when running for president, and why he is STILL going after her in another ad that just came out recently. Really does make one wonder.) It is a shame that some folks are still so determined to tear down this competent, successful woman, who achieved one of only 50 positions in the entire country, who did great work for her citizens, enjoyed an extremely high approval rate, and was/is most definitely not the dunce she has been portrayed as being.

When will we, as a nation, not feel the need to demean and tear down strong, successful, charismatic women? For that matter, when will WOMEN feel the need to stop tearing down other women? For now, sadly,  it seems that day is too far off…

60 thoughts on “HBO’s “Game Change” Facts Debunked, And The Numbers Are In”

  1. kinthenorthwest says:

    LOL and HBO has a hit LOL great article RRA…
    If I remember my statistics right from when I used to be one of those idiots that just had to watch Little People BIg World; a couple of their season premeirs got over 5 million viewers…
    I think Jon and Kate did the same a few times too….
    So 2.1 million is supposed to be a big deal…Hmmm

  3. That whole fetal position scene (which I have only seen in previews, and boy do they love that preview) smacks of complete bullcrap. What is embarassing is that people out there believe that a female executive would behave that way. Politics is and has been Gov. Palin’s job for quite some time, get real. Shes a pro.

    Maybe Ms. Moore and Mr. Hanks go home and curl up in little weepy blobs if they do not get their way at work? And Mr. Schmidt as well? He does seem to be somewhat unstable.

    The glee with which Ms. Moore squeals that the book has been fact checked is also great. I guess it depends on your definition of “fact” and “check”. I have absolutely no use for Hollywood these days and she pretty much sums up why. Useless B grade nearing her expiry date actress with a knife out for another woman, and a nasty progressive agenda to top it all off. Typical.

    The speech thing – where it had to be faxed to DC before being delivered in Nevada is pretty much par for the course “inside the beltway” (and dont kid yourself McCain is very inside the beltway). Which is exactly why I dont want them running my healthcare. Seriously.

    I did not know about the photographic memory. Maybe I missed all the media coverage of it? I would love to hear them justify how Oblahblah is smart and Palin is a dummy. Of course being able to remember everything you read right away really means you are stupid. Wait for it, because that news story is so coming to some MSNBC bobblehead reporter show very soon. Photographic memory = stupid trained parrot (thats what they will say). Democrat politician = genius, ex officio.

    • Rabble Rouser Reverend Amy says:

      ROTFLMAO abt the “photographic memory” thing – you are so right, hc. Indeed, they will find a way to make this a negative since PALIN does it.

      Great comment, hc. Like you, there is no way in hell I can see Sarah Palin heaving herself to the floor, crying and in a fetal position. It just isn’t going to happen. This is a woman who, as you said, has been an Exec for a while. Not only was she the governor, but she was also a mother, and her husband was often gone for long stretches of time. She is made of strong stuff, Sarah Palin is.

      And Julianne Moore – I used to like her. But her superficiality in describing Palin, this movie, was astonishing.

      Btw, if you haven’t read the full statement by Meg Stapleton abt Schmidt, check it out. She does not mince words at ALL. He’s a piece of work, that guy…

      • Because I am straight-ist (gay-ist) and assume you speak for all women living with a woman, I am wondering what you thought of Ms. Moore in that film where she plays the “girl half” of a lesbian couple with kids. The one where the kids go find the sperm donor? I thought it the acting was not great and the plot was just a trainwreck.

        Thats the only film I think I have seen Ms. Moore in recently and I do have to say that acting with that script cannot have been easy. it was more acting IN SPITE OF the script, but actors are not drafted into making a film. They dont draw straws for it. They choose it.

        I have no idea why a bunch of lefties would need to make such a film. Unless they really think lesbians secretly want to have sex with men and watch male porn, and secretly think lesbian couples need to have a butch/man half and a girly half in such obvious ways.

        Maybe Ms. Moore isnt so great at reading scripts and picking movies to be in.

        Maybe Ms. Moore has a bizarre world view – where professional women cry and throw themselves on the floor over “work stuff”, where fact checking does not involve checking any facts, and where lesbians watch gay man porn and have sex with men and not women.

        • Good observation HC. I will ot watch this film, and sad to say I gave up on Hanks quite some time ago, he is a wet brain at this point from too much kool aid. i despise propaganda, and I despise it even more it it is promoted by a political party, with no regard to what damage it does far beyond their intended. There is no sewer to deep and foul for them to reach into to find something to convince the mouth breathing dems that it is truth. I am so tired of the propaganda machine and idiots who live for what they preach.

        • Rabble Rouser Reverend Amy says:

          LOL, hc, and yes, I do speak for all women living with a woman partner. Thanks for noticing! :-D

          I had mixed feelings abt that movie for the very reason you mentioned. I knew it was coming, and hoped that, maybe, just maybe, just ONCE, the lesbian wasn’t going to throw herself at the man. But, no. It is such a typical Hollywood thing to do, too, to always have a lesbian fall for the leading man. Sigh.

          Oh, and as for watching the gay porn?! WTH? I mean, I suppose it is possible in theory, but WHY? Again, I think these people don’t understand the definitions of words, like Lesbian,” for example…

    • Onofre's arm says:

      I wouldn’t make such a big deal out of the fetal position thing. The night Obama was elected, curling up on the floor in a fetal and weeping seemed like the right thing to do.

  4. Ferd Berfle says:

    the license taken with the “facts” of a movie that is a “docudrama,” but being treated like a documentary, is just startling. But there you have it.
    =======================
    I call it a mockumentary. And Hanks will never get another dime from me.

  5. yttik says:

    I got rid of HBO long ago. I couldn’t stand their sexist movies, their misogynistic comedians, and Bill Maher. As a matter of fact, I got rid of HBO for many of the same reasons I left the Dem party.

    As to the mockumentary, where to start? I guess the curling up in a fetal position and all the shrieking would have been a good clue that something was amiss. Except for a handful of Hollywood starlets, ( male and female) nobody acts like that.

    • Rabble Rouser Reverend Amy says:

      Good points all, yttik. And yes, really, who does that? No one I know would dissolve into a pile on the floor, or scream and yell like that. Unless, as you noted, they were some over-privileged Hollywood type…

      The whole thing is so transparent, so sexist, so infuriating…Makes me want to go make another donation to SarahPac…

    • I liked the response to this – “Horses die all the time!” One mare seems to have fallen down and hit her head. Because horses fall down all the time! Not.

      I have seen exactly one literal dead horse in my entire life. He died of no readily apparent reason on a street in Beirut, probably 25 years ago. A swarm of shiites were standing around the deceased, who was lying on his side. The shiites were gawking and I guess consulting with an Imam about horse being hallal (kosher) or not.

      I would think the optimal number of horses to die in a horses related movie would be zero. I am glad they shut down this production (I read they had) pending a better answer than “Horses die all the time!”.

      • Rabble Rouser Reverend Amy says:

        Uh, yeah, no, horses do not die all the time unless they are being mishandled, mistreated, and all that that encompasses. “Horses die all the time…” The inhumanity is staggering with these people…

        • Onofre's arm says:

          Yeah, he’s still acting. He was excellent in “Warrior” as a snarling, mean, and callous drunkard. Of course, it’s not really ‘acting’ since he was portraying himself.

          (wow, why am I being so mean to Nick Nolte? I actually liked him in many of his roles, especially his character in “Cannery Row”)

              • Onofre's arm says:

                When Al Franken had his radio show, I actually called and got through (probably because there wasn’t much of an audience), and I asked him if he was the drunken half-wit baggage handler on the train in the movie “Trading Places”, to which he proudly replied, “Yes”. I then asked him, “Isn’t that what they call ‘type-casting’ in the trade?”

                I can’t be certain, but I’ll bet that thin skinned and nasty jerk managed to cut my last comment with the 7 second delay. Pity.

    • Rabble Rouser Reverend Amy says:

      This makes me want to throw up…That poor child. And her parents, too – what a tragic loss for them at the hands of their “judicial” system…

  9. GREAT post, Cuz—-Luckily,(and purposefully) we don’t have HBO—
    This whole corrupt movie thing makes me sick—God, they will just not let go of her!
    The Liberals are such spineless jack-a-napes until you mention Sarah Palin’s name, and then they turn into sharks who haven’t eaten in a month–
    God, Sarah scares the donkey droppings out of them, doesn’t she?!! I’ve never seen, in my lifetime, this amount of energy used to try and defame, debunk and destroy a person.

    Thank you for all of this information!

    • Rabble Rouser Reverend Amy says:

      Thanks so much, Cuz’n Cindy – I appreciate that.

      What an apt description of how they act, too. It really is remarkable. They will be spineless jellyfish with everything else, but when it comes to tearing down a strong woman (or trying to), they become a pack of piranha. Incredible…

    • Ferd Berfle says:

      Yeah, that’s a good show. I also loved “Carnivale”, “Deadwood”, and “Six Feet Under”.

      I wish they had given “John from Cincinnati” another year–it was fascinating.

  11. I have a section of movies dedicated to “hit pieces”. It is a numeric fact that Dems are in the lead for this catagory.

    I would would be very interested to see how the Republican nominee deals with Gov. Palin.

  12. Confession: I am too cheap and uninterested in HBO content to pay for it. From what I gathered on twitter, every single word and portrayal was taken as the gospel by the Palin haters. Not surprising. I got a last minute link on twitter to watch “The Undefeated” on Reelz. I would have shared, had I known earlier. It was not only a great chronical of her rise from PTA member to Governor, to VP nominee, it also highlighted her tenacity. Make no mistake, I am a sap for the family profiles (especially Trig), but I cheered the loudest when she took on the corruption in her OWN party. No one that watches MSM would ever believe that a committed conservative such as myself would cheer for someone that would stand on principles and buck the party, even if it meant risking losing elections. But, I do. And countless others do as well.
    Anyway, it was a great documentary. If I get a link to a replay, I will pass it on.

    • Rabble Rouser Reverend Amy says:

      I don’t blame you, Sybill – I wouldn’t (and don’t) waste my money on HBO.

      I did get a chance to DVR “The Undefeated.” I haven’t had a chance to watch it yet, likely won’t until next week (going out of town this weekend), but I am looking forward to it.

      Palin’s rise really is incredible. As is her strength in tackling the corruption in her own party. It just makes me so mad every time I think abt it that she was belittled so much by the “Party For Women.” Grrrr.

  14. Ick, I just downloaded copy of this dog of a film (I *refuse* to pay HBO a cent for it or give them ratings).

    When this film sweeps the Academy Awards and Golden Globes, and Cannes, and Sundance, and wins a Nobel Prize and the gold in the 100m sprint at the Olympics I will not be at all shocked. That will just be the last straw in my divorce from Hollywood. Irreconcilable differences is putting it mildly.

    And (having seen the film) I am pretty sure it will be up for all of the above awards and then some. It has all the elements the average cud chewing sheeple needs: The big man. The bimbo in hot water. The obvious upcoming trainwreck. The confused victim. And a plot worthy of the average teenage vampire show.

    Maybe Tom Hanks can play Leni Riefenstahl in his next docudrama? She was a tall woman with a big honker and a penchant for propaganda, it seems he would be a natural for the part.

    • Rabble Rouser Reverend Amy says:

      ROTFLMAO – hc, you are just too damn funny. Thanks for the laugh – though I am sure you are right, too. No doubt this “film” will be nominated for all those awards, and they will probably make some up for it, too. I wouldn’t put anything past them. Especially not when it comes to THIS topic…

      Great comment, hc – you rock!

  15. painkillerjayne says:

    Tom Hanks has lost it. He produced and directed I think the WW2 mini series for HBO. I never watched it because he went on the talk shows saying our troops were racist for calling the Japanese, JAPS.

    We called the Germans krauts, but he didn’t say that.

    Tom Hanks and his ilk are stuck on portraying America as racist.

    As far as I am concerned Tom Hanks is tainted.

    • Ferd Berfle says:

      Gee, Hank, can you say enemy? We also called the South Vietnamese, gooks, the Viet Cong, Charlie, and the Russians, Ruskies or comrade. So what? It was war and those names were meant to keep the soldiers focused.

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