Excellent documentary about an interesting and iconic figure in American history. Barry Goldwater may have lost the 1964 election but was vindicated 16 years later with the election of Ronald Reagan as President. What this documentary shows is how image counts for everything in the political process. It's not who you are but how you are perceived. It's not what you are but what the public thinks you are. That Mr. Goldwater's political career survived the 1964 drubbing he received at the polls is a remarkable event, possibly unprecedented in American political history. It's also a testament to Mr. Goldwater's durability and ability to overcome adversity and earn a place of honor in American political history. Mr. Goldwater was probably the last of the real conservatives whose political career was not propped up by the so-called Religious Right and because of that he lost in 1964. But the Republicans learned from their defeat in 1964 and four years later won with Richard Nixon whose strategy for winning marked the start of a new era in American politics, marking the emergence of religion as a major influence in the shaping of the American political agenda.
