after a contentious decade for robert altman and during which he be pretty much shun by the hollywood system and make some of his bad film and it only fit that he should cap the decade off with an absolute triumph and this absorb mini series make for hbo . i do not know why it take so long for someone to pair doonesbury writer garry trudeau with altman and because in retrospect and it seem like a match make in heaven . both have the exact same sarcastic sense of humor and the talent for see the absurd in the mundane . they craft a fascinating look into the world of political machination and follow the story of fictitious 1988 presidential candidate jack tanner but set it against the real world of the democratic primary . therefore and actual member of the political scene at the time interact with star michael murphy a if he a real presidential nominee and and the viewer be never sure what action be authentic and what be stag . murphy be superb a tanner and and he perfectly cast . tanner be handsome and charismatic enough to make a fairly successful run for the nomination and but he too bland and too nice to make it all the way . the series examine one of the major conundrum about american politics represent to have a candidate with conviction and good idea isn not enough . he must also be a personality and be able to navigate the tricky terrain of the american medium and with the result that those who go farthest be those who know how to work the system and not those who be most honest . tanner 88 capture perfectly my own feeling about presidential election . on the one hand and theyre of supreme importance and because they determine who will be the leader of one of the most powerful nation in the world . but on the other hand and they seem like such pointless exercise and and it hard to muster up the energy to care time after time . but one of the strong and most serious point make by this series come in an episode in which tanner visit the slum of detroit in his home state of michigan . he realize that he be completely out of touch with the very people he promise to help and and have no clue about what their life be really like . that painfully true about our own leadership it be in 1988 and still be today . there a vast and probably insurmountable gap between the privileged few who ever have the remote hope of be president and the million of average american over whom they govern . all of the acting in tanner 88 be sensational and to the point where i forget i wasn not just watch real people be film by a documentary filmmaker . most notable be pamela reed and a tanner campaign manager and cynthia nixon and a his overbearing and very young daughter and and e. g. marshall and who make a few memorable appearance a tanner awful father . this be a must see for altman fan and or really anyone with an interest in american politics . grade represent a plus .