Slow Burn

I consider myself a Watergate aficionado if there is such a thing. I lived through it all and in retrospect, instead of a grave threat to our constitutional form of government, it was more akin to the Keystone Cops. The series pays way and I mean way too much attention to Martha Mitchell, an almost comedic drunken nut case who happened to gold dig her way into marrying John Mitchell, a decent fellow with a weakness for women and liquid vices. Then there is Mabe, an aging California hippie, who had a political show on public radio and is convinced that Nixon caused E. Howard Hunt's wife's United Airlines flight to crash and kill her so she would not talk. Tin foil hat kind of stuff. On the flip side, a lot of good info on Liddy, Roger Stone, and John Dean. Maybe they should do another series on the way real professionals handled black bag corruption and chicanery: They could call it JFK And The 1960 Election, starring none other than Joseph P Kennedy as the Sevengali who orchestrated it all.

I don't usually write reviews but I had to for this docuseries. It is one of the best shows about politics period. It has all the elements of a great politics show and if you like politics and history you will love it. If you think you know the watergate scandal the think again.

Enjoying this doc, but it completely glosses over, I mean withholds completely, some key historical truths: the u.s. under the Kennedy administration attempted to assassinate Castro several times; Castro was leading a revolution against u.s. imperialism; Cuba under u.s. influence was a playground for the rich ruling elite, at the expense of the Cuban people; the u.s. has interfered in foreign elections, thwarting democracy, many times up to this present time; Castro was not leading during peace time but fighting for the very lives of the Cuban workers; McGovern had support because of his courageous anti-war stance, and that was different from any other candidates for primaries; the u.s. violence against Vietnam escalated under Nixon, and was abominable; and I'm on episode 3 and have yet to see Kissinger, architect of dastardly u.s. war crimes, mentioned. Also re: Mrs. Mitchell, I doubt most people thought being a "southern belle" was "cool" during the black revolution of the 1960's, which was crushed by u.s./ CIA. I mean, gross. But there are great features in this doc that make it otherwise worthwhile.

Can't wait for the next episode. Sometimes it's hard to evaluate what would become historical events as they unfold in real time. This series presents the onion very well and unwraps each layer with care and details that we have either forgotten or never knew. A number of participants who were involved at the time are presented as they are today to add the facts they knew at the time. Excellent overall.

Doing exactly what a documentary should do:

• Presenting facts as facts
• Presenting theories as theories
• Digging deeper, or differently, than anyone before.

If all issues were dealt with in a similar fashion - many of us would be more enlightened. The narrative keeps the Slow Burn vivid.

An obvious must se for anybody with an interest in; Americana, Nixon, Ethics or Politics.