RTFA: http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/atwater/et…

In 1989, Lee Atwater was a political rock star. After masterminding George H.W. Bush’s presidential victory over Michael Dukakis, the colorful, blues guitar-playing Atwater was relishing his new role as chairman of the Republican National Committee as he redefined the role of the political operative.

Two years later, the political strategist would be dead from a brain tumor at the age of 40, cast aside by the Washington power players he’d helped create and wracked with remorse for the tactics he’d employed in his political ascent.

In Boogie Man: The Lee Atwater Story, producer Stefan Forbes reveals new information about the meteoric rise and tragic demise of a man both admired and reviled for the controversial, sometimes racially-charged political tactics that helped elect George H.W. Bush president and inspired protégés such as Karl Rove. Through a wealth of compelling, never-before-seen footage and photos, as well as interviews with boyhood friends, elite Republican strategists and political adversaries, the documentary examines Atwater’s impact on the way modern political campaigns are waged.

“[Lee Atwater] mattered in American politics,” Newsweek political writer Howard Fineman says, “because of the man he got elected, because of the party he shaped. He was very important not only to George H.W.’s victory, but to his son’s victory.”

I regret missing this one, as it will not be available online. There are a few clips here, but if you want to watch it, that’ll be $250. Damn!

Here’s an excerpt from “Boogie Man: The Lee Atwater Story”