Boogie Man: The Lee Atwater Story or Dirty Tricks: The Man Who Got the Bushes Elected

Stefan Forbes's gripping documentary tells the story of Lee Atwater, the blues-playing rogue whose rambunctious rise to become chairman of the GOP positioned him as kingmaker and political rock star. Atwater mentored George W Bush and Karl Rove while leading the Republicans to victory, helped make liberal a dirty word and transformed the way America elects its presidents. Featuring interviews with colleagues, friends and adversaries, the film sheds new light on his crucial role in America's shift to the right in the past ten years.




It is the story of the campaign tactics used by Lee Atwater while working on the George H.W. Bush 1988 presidential campaign, and how those tactics have transformed presidential campaigns in the United States. In an interview with the film's director and producer Stefan Forbes it was revealed that the team behind the film specifically targeted 2008 US Presidential election swing states when the film was released in late September 2008.



According to the film's director and producer Stefan Forbes, "if you're upset with the major corporate media, this is a film to see." The term boogie man in the documentary's title is a double entendre that refers to Atwater's love of blues music and to his reputation for being a sinister force in politics. Republican strategist Mary Matalin uses the term in the film to describe Atwater's reputation among his opponents.

The documentary was retitled as Dirty Tricks: The Man Who Got the Bushes Elected when it was broadcast in the United Kingdom on BBC Four. When broadcast in Sweden on SVT (the national public service broadcaster), the film was retitled Amerikas ondaste man ("The most evil man in America").

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