A window into a single Democratic primary for the Presidential election, that of Wisconsin in 1960, featuring the "coastal elite," magnanimous John F. Kennedy, facing off against Hubert "You Betcha" Humphrey from Minnesota for the hearts and minds of voters. Through its highly informal, Cinéma Vérité style, we see them shmooze people on the streets, crack jokes in speeches, and in some moments, attempt to ensure that television appearances are choreographed. Nothing terribly profound comes out of its 53 minutes, but the benefit of history and knowing what will happen to these people and the country in the years that would follow make it an interesting watch. Elections in America often signal significant inflection points for the country, and this one was certainly one of them.
The documentary is not very deep on the actual issues or the differences between the candidates, maybe because much of the platitudes they speak in were vague, but what certainly comes through is how voters tend to back the person they perceive as best serving their own interest. Kennedy's Catholicism helps him in a Polish Catholic district in Milwaukee, but hurts him in some other places, with some voters frankly stating that's the reason they can't support him (reminding me of voters in 2020 who said they couldn't support Buttigieg because he was gay). Humphrey does well in farm country, especially those close to his home state, and he understands he must amplify this point to guys in overalls who look rather skeptical. There aren't a lot of hard-hitting questions about the intricacies of foreign policy (or any policy for that matter), but one guy shaking Humphrey's hand at the outset complains about how high his taxes have gotten.
Not to idealize it, but in light of today's politics, one can't help but observe how civilized the campaigning is, and the overall sense of decorum. The singalongs from both camps, sung to ditties like "High Hopes" get a little tiring, but are reflective of the period, and the sense of innocence that would gradually erode through Vietnam and Watergate. Meanwhile, it's hard not to smile in little moments like Humphrey coaching his wife on what to say when the camera turns on her, Jackie speaking a line of Polish she'd learned, or Bobby, initially introduced as Jack's brother, getting up to make a self-deprecating remark. For its content this is probably 7 stars, interesting but fragmentary, but I bumped it up because of the film style, and how novel that was for the time.
