| ...So Goes the Nation | |
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.jpg) Theatrical poster | |
| Directed by | |
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| Distributed by | IFC Films |
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Running time | 90 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Box office | $10,337 |
...So Goes the Nation is a 2006 political documentary directed byAdam Del Deo andJames D. Stern that follows the2004 United States presidential election between Republican PresidentGeorge W. Bush and Democratic SenatorJohn Kerry. It was released byIFC Films on October 4, 2006, and received praise from critics.
The documentary concentrates on theswing state ofOhio, where Bush's victory in the state was considered to cost Kerry the election. It features interviews with both campaign officials and volunteers from both parties while analyzing the outcome of the election....So Goes the Nation heavily features Ohio'srural-urban political divide, and the corresponding cultural and moral issues that, according to the documentary, played a pivotal role in the election's outcome
In the2004 United States presidential election, Republican incumbentsGeorge W. Bush andDick Cheney were challenged by Democratic SenatorsJohn Kerry ofMassachusetts andJohn Edwards ofNorth Carolina.[1][2] During the election, Ohio was considered a crucial battleground state; following Kerry'sloss in Ohio he called Bush concede the election.[1]
Starting withLyndon B. Johnson in the1964 presidential election throughDonald Trump in the2016 presidential election, every single winning candidate carried Ohio, with the streak breaking for DemocratJoe Biden in2020.[3][4] As of the2024 United States presidential election, no Republican has ever won the White House without carrying Ohio.[5][6] The name of the film originated from the saying that "As Ohio goes, so goes the nation".[3][7] Asimilar saying was once applied to the state ofMaine, a former politicalbellwether.[8]
The documentary concentrates on the2004 United States presidential election in theswing state ofOhio. The state was considered to be highly competitive, with both candidates attempting to win it. Due to Bush's victory in the state, Kerry conceded the election. It features interviews with both campaign officials, including the chairmen of both theDemocratic National Committee andRepublican National Committee, and volunteers from the Democratic and Republican parties while analyzing the outcome of the election. The political differences between Ohio's rural and urban communities, along with the cultural and moral differences and the impact on the electorate, are prominently covered in the film.
| Bush 50–60% 60–70% 70–80% | Kerry 50–60% 60–70% |
...So Goes the Nation was co-directed byAdam Del Deo andJames D. Stern.[10] The two had previously directed a 2005 sports documentary aboutHouston Rockets playerYao Ming titledThe Year of the Yao.[11] Two weeks before election day, followingKenneth Blackwell's, Ohio'sSecretary of State, announcement about new rules regardingvoter registration, Del Deo and Stern traveled across the state with the initial goal of documenting possible voter fraud in the 2004 presidential election.[3][10]
The documentary featured various officials from both campaigns, includingTerry McAuliffe andEd Gillespie, chairs of theDemocratic andRepublican national committees, respectively.[10] It also features Leslie Ghiz, a Republican activist and judge on theHamilton County Common Pleas Court who campaigned for theBush/Cheney ticket. She later left the Republican Party due to theinfluence of PresidentDonald Trump.[7]
...So Goes the Nation was simultaneously released byIFC Films on October 4, 2006, on both cable television and theatres.[10] The film was released in the lead up to the2006 midterm elections.[12] It's theatrical run waslimited to four theaters for less than a month. The film made $2,622 in its opening weekend and $10,337 overall.[13] On November 1, to promote the film Stern and Del Deo were interviewed byC-SPAN.[14] On February 13, 2007, it was released on DVD.[13]
The film was praised by critics. On thereview aggregator websiteRotten Tomatoes, 91% of 23 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 7/10. The website's consensus reads: "Intelligent and even-handed, ...So Goes the Nation takes an impressively comprehensive look behind the scenes of the modern American election process."[15]Metacritic, which uses aweighted average, assigned the film a score of 65 out of 100, based on 12 critics, indicating "generally favorable" reviews.[16] Writing forThe New York Times, Jeannette Catsoulis praised the film, writing that the Democrats should view the film as "less as the opening of an old wound and more as a manual for2008."[17] Writing forVariety, Ronnie Scheib praised the film's use of humor, particularly noting the jokes of political consultantPaul Begala, but found it somewhat boring overall.[10] Writing forThe Boston Globe,Wesley Morris felt the movie stood out among political dramas due to its nonpartisan approach to its subject; giving the film a rating of 3/4 stars. He also praised how the film paired Bush's attacks on Kerry as a "flip flopper" with clips of Kerry changing his positions calling it a "cruel thing of beauty."[12] Writing forThe Blade, a newspaper based in Ohio, Rob Lockwood praised the film's understanding of thepolitics of Ohio while admitting the setting was mostly irrelevant to the overarching narrative. He rated the documentary 4/5 stars.[3] However, both Michael Wilmington ofChicago Tribune and Jack Mathews ofNew York Daily News disliked the film.[16][18]