The Choice

Last night I watched Frontline: The Choice 2004 on PBS. I hadn't intended to; I already knew what my vote would be. But I started to watch as I prepared for bed, and couldn't turn it off. It is a long (2 hour), thoughtful, slow-paced piece that came to me as a relief from all the noisy, intense politicizing of the past few months.

Here is what the Frontline editors say about the response to this piece:

FRONTLINE has received a large number of responses to "The Choice 2004." Perhaps it is not a surprise that given the polarized and sharply divided electorate, we had a sharply divided response. Many found our documentary thoughtful, balanced and helpful. And most television reviewers agreed (see the "Press Reaction" section). . .

Rabinowitz [The Wall Street Journal] spotted an important truth about our program. On the Senator's side of the ledger, we took pains to report on many aspects of his career that could cause a voter to think hard about supporting him. The same can be said for President Bush. For example, Kerry's consistent record opposing most military actions could be seen in a positive or a negative light, depending on one's perspective, while Bush's steadfastness and decisiveness likewise could be interpreted as a strength or a weakness. We reached no conclusions on these matters. We endorsed neither candidate. We offered portraits of the two men largely in the words of their friends and relatives . . .

We have read every letter and while we may disagree with some of them, it has helped us to better understand the concerns. And it certainly shows how deeply our viewers care about the choice on November 2nd - and that is to be welcomed.

This documentary provided some new information for me, and reminded me of some I had forgotten. It did not change my vote, which in any case will not count in this solid-red state. But it did change how I felt when I blackened that oval. My vote, which was to be a vote against President Bush, is now a vote solidly in favor of Senator Kerry.

I encourage you all, whatever your political leanings, whatever your vote has been, to take the time to watch this documentary; it is available online.

I support Kerry

Comments

[Heather]

As an American citizen living in the UK, but a Kerry, New York-resident voter, it's nice to know there are people like you in solid red states that are still voting Kerry, despite the feeling that it's all for naught. :)

[SB]

My other votes will count, though; and there were a lot of them.