Journeys With George

Alexandra Pelosi | 76 minutes | Purple Monkey | <a href="http://www.jasonandco.com/george/" target="new">Trailer</a>

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On the Bush 2000 campaign trail, Alexandra Pelosi shot hours of priceless footage inside the press corps plane that shuttled power-struck scribes from one meticulously orchestrated event to another. Besides offering alternately hilarious and chilling visions of Dubya, Pelosi’s film illuminates how the candidate manufactures the consent of up-and-coming political correspondents, and how they, in turn, manufacture ours.

Spanning from Bush’s announcement of his candidacy to the Supreme Court ruling that granted him victory, Journeys With George captures the Bush charm offensive in full effect. Even Pelosi — the daughter of House Whip Nancy Pelosi — is not immune, letting George name her film (though she resists his suggestion to spell Journeys with a G).

The other reporters may crack caustic jokes about Bush’s snowmobile-riding photo ops — in private — but when the candidate shifts to an even mildly serious discussion, their faces are stern and their tape recorders are rolling. And no wonder: Their future jobs in the White House press corps hinge on his success. As Bush informs the filmmaker, “If I lose, you’re out of work, baby. You’re off the plane, baby.”

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DONALD TRUMP & DEMOCRACY

Mother Jones was founded to do journalism differently. We stand for justice and democracy. We reject false equivalence. We go after stories others don’t. We’re a nonprofit newsroom, because the kind of truth-telling investigations we do doesn’t happen under corporate ownership.

And we need your support like never before, to fight back against the existential threats American democracy faces. Fundraising for nonprofit media is always a challenge, and we need all hands on deck right now. We have no cushion; we leave it all on the field.

It’s reader support that enables Mother Jones to report the facts that are too difficult, expensive, or inconvenient for other news outlets to uncover. Please help with a donation today if you can—even a few bucks will make a real difference. A monthly gift would be incredible.

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