Republican Strategist Lee Atwater Praised by Allies, Reviled by Opponents

KPBS | By KPBS Public Broadcasting

Published November 10, 2008 at 8:10 AM PST

This story was published more than 16 years ago.

Who was Lee Atwater, and what did he do to become one of the Republican Party's most influential political strategists? Host Tom Fudge speaks to filmmaker Stefan Forbes about FRONTLINE's "Boogie Man:

Tom Fudge: Lee Atwater is an American political legend. The man who ran George Bush's 1988 campaign for president was a brilliant political tactician. He was funny, he was cynical and, in some ways, he was contemptible. He knew how to play the blues. He spoke with a strong South Carolina accent. And, the end of his life brought a fight for redemption. It was an appropriate conclusion to a story that was very rooted in the American South.

That story is told in a new FRONTLINE documentary that airs tomorrow night on KPBS-TV. Airtime is 9:30 p.m. The FRONTLINE program is called Boogie Man: The Lee Atwater Story .

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Guest

Stefan Forbes, producer of FRONTLINE's Boogie Man: The Lee Atwater Story , which chronicles the rise and fall of one of the Republican Party's most influential political strategists.