Film examines Clinton scandals

By Kevin Crust
Los Angeles Times

"The Hunting of the President" Unrated 89 minutes

Based on the best seller by Joe Conason and Gene Lyons, the film constructs an intriguing account of the decade of attacks and scandals that plagued Clinton, playing out like a compilation of Great Tabloid Headlines of the '90s. Troopergate, Gennifer Flowers, Paula Jones, Whitewater, Vince Foster and Monica are all here, dissected through media footage and punditry by former Clinton adviser and author Sidney Blumenthal, former conservative journalist David Brock ("Blinded by the Right: The Conscience of an Ex-Conservative"; "The Republican Noise Machine: Right-Wing Media and How It Corrupts Democracy"), veteran crime reporter Dan Moldea, Washington Post media critic Howard Kurtz, political consultant and former Clinton aide Paul Begala and many others.

The film falls short of proving Hillary Clinton's 1998 charge of a "vast right-wing conspiracy," but it paints a convincing portrait of a loose network of conservatives out to sink her husband's political career. From low-level Arkansans looking to make a buck off of a local boy's success by exploiting his reputation for womanizing to powerful Republican attorneys, including independent counsel Kenneth Starr, brandishing grudges and swapping favors, the Clintons' enemies do not fare well in the film.

Although Conason and Lyons do a much better job of placing into context the reasons the right targeted Clinton — namely the Republicans' well-grounded fear that even a relatively unknown, moderate Southern Democrat would be an unbeatable opponent — the filmmakers preserve most of the book's key points while keeping the film under 1à hours.

Like "Fahrenheit 9/11," "The Hunting of the President" aims not to present a "fair and balanced" look at Clinton's travails but instead provide a counterweight to what previously has been presented in the news. The complicity of the mainstream media is a major theme of the film, pointing out how legitimate news outlets, including the Los Angeles Times, were quick to jump on sensationalistic charges but gave much less coverage when stories failed to pan out.

The film marks the feature documentary debut of its co-writer/directors, Thomason, a well known F.O.B. (Friend of Bill) and longtime television producer whose wife, Linda Bloodworth-Thomason, made the effective 1992 Clinton campaign film, "A Man From Hope," and Perry, a former Army Ranger who directed the 1999 indie film, "Speedway Junky."

"The Hunting of the President" begins and ends with then newly retired Sen. Dale Bumpers, D-Ark., asking "How did we come to be here?" as he delivers his impassioned closing argument in defense of the president during the Senate impeachment hearings in January 1999. From there, Thomason and Perry methodically deal with the constant obstacles thrown at Clinton as he made his way from Little Rock to Washington.

The film has an aloof quality, perhaps overcompensating for Thomason's close personal connection to the former president. Clinton is seen only in familiar news clips, and his presence as a protagonist is sorely missed. Many of those interviewed are journalists or media figures, so much of what they say is not firsthand but what they and others have reported.

The film's strengths lie in its assemblage of information, producing a fairly thorough overview of this facet of the Clinton years, exonerating him of wrongdoing in his financial activities while pointing out the strong disappointment felt by those who worked with him for his lack of judgment in his personal behavior.

Thomason and Perry are no Michael Moore, but they've made a film that is worthy of being seen as more than a potential double-bill partner for "Fahrenheit 9/11."