...So Goes the Nation

November 2025 November 2025 ...So Goes the Nation So Goes the Nation (poster).jpg Theatrical poster Adam Del Deo James D. Stern Jun Diaz Douglas Hansen Don Kempf IFC Films 2006 10 4 90 minutes United States English $10,337 ...So Goes the Nation is a 2006 political documentary directed by Adam Del Deo and James D. Stern that follows the 2004 United States presidential election between Republican President George W. Bush and Democratic Senator John Kerry. It was released by IFC Films on October 4, 2006, and received praise from critics. The documentary concentrates on the swing state of Ohio, 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 documents Ohio's rural-urban political divide, and the corresponding cultural and moral issues that, according to the documentary, played a pivotal role in the election's outcome. Background In the 2004 United States presidential election, Republican incumbents George W. Bush and Dick Cheney were challenged by Democratic Senators John Kerry of Massachusetts and John Edwards of North Carolina.Barron James November 3, 2004 Kerry Concedes Race, but 'Our Fight Goes On' https://www.nytimes.com/2004/11/03/politics/campaign/kerry-concedes-race-but-our-fight-goes-on.html November 13, 2025 The New York Times enLevy Michael October 26, 2025 United States presidential election of 2004 George W. Bush vs. John Kerry, Campaign, & Results https://www.britannica.com/event/United-States-presidential-election-of-2004 November 13, 2025 Britannica en During the election, Ohio was considered a crucial battleground state; following Kerry's loss in Ohio he called Bush to concede the election. Synopsis The documentary concentrates on the 2004 United States presidential election in the swing state of Ohio. The state was considered highly competitive, with both candidates attempting to win it. Due to Bush's victory in Ohio, Kerry conceded the election. The film features interviews with campaign officials, including the chairs of both the Democratic National Committee and Republican National Committee, and volunteers from both parties, while analyzing the outcome of the election. It also covers the political differences between Ohio's rural and urban communities, along with their cultural and moral differences and their impact on the electorate. Production alt=A map of Ohio|thumb|County map of the 2004 election in Ohio:Liep Dave 2004 Presidential General Election Results – Ohio https://uselectionatlas.org/RESULTS/state.php?year=2004&fips=39&off=0&elect=0 November 13, 2025 Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections Bush #e27f90 50–60% #cc2f4a 60–70% #d40000 70–80% Kerry #86b6f2 50–60% #4389e3 60–70% ...So Goes the Nation was co-directed by Adam Del Deo and James D. Stern; it was the third to be directed by the pair. Two weeks before election day, following an announcement about new rules regarding voter registration by Kenneth Blackwell, the Ohio Secretary of State, Del Deo and Stern traveled across the state with the initial goal of documenting possible voter fraud in the 2004 presidential election. However, they instead decided to cover the Bush and Kerry campaigns.Lockwood Rob October 27, 2006 Behind the battle https://www.newspapers.com/image/1213282999/ November 13, 2025 The Blade D1–D2Scheib Ronnie October 4, 2006 …So Goes the Nation https://variety.com/2006/film/markets-festivals/so-goes-the-nation-1200512914/ November 13, 2025 Variety en-US ...So Goes the Nation takes its name from the saying "As Ohio goes, so goes the nation",Sewell Dan October 5, 2024 Opinion: Judge Leslie Ghiz, 'in good conscience,' couldn't stay in GOP dominated by Trump https://www.cincinnati.com/story/opinion/columnists/2024/10/05/opinion-longtime-republican-judge-leslie-ghiz-runs-as-an-independent/75466544007/ November 13, 2025 Cincinnati Enquirer en-US a reference to the fact that every single winning candidate from Lyndon B. Johnson in the 1964 presidential election through Donald Trump in the 2016 presidential election carried Ohio.Ohio 2020 election results https://www.cnn.com/election/2020/results/state/ohio 2025-11-13 CNN en The documentary featured various officials from both campaigns, including Terry McAuliffe and Ed Gillespie, the chairmen of the Democratic and Republican national committees, respectively. It also features Leslie Ghiz, a Republican activist and judge on the Hamilton County Common Pleas Court who campaigned for the Bush/Cheney ticket. Ghiz later left the Republican Party due to the influence of President Donald Trump. Release and reception ...So Goes the Nation was simultaneously released by IFC Films on October 4, 2006, on both cable television and in theatres. The film was released in the lead up to the 2006 midterm elections.Morris Wesley Wesley Morris November 3, 2006 Two unflinching takes on 2004 races https://www.newspapers.com/image/444341058/ November 13, 2025 The Boston Globe D10 Newspapers.com Its theatrical run was limited to four theaters for less than a month. The film made $2,622 in its opening weekend and $10,337 overall.So Goes the Nation (2006) https://www.the-numbers.com/movie/So-Goes-the-Nation November 13, 2025 The Numbers On November 1, to promote the film, Stern and Del Deo were interviewed by Brian Lamb on C-SPAN.November 1, 2006 James Stern & Adam Del Deo https://www.c-span.org/program/qa/james-stern-adam-del-deo/166258 November 13, 2025 C-SPAN On February 13, 2007, it was released on DVD. The documentary received generally positive reviews from critics. 91 7 23 Intelligent and even-handed, ...So Goes the Nation takes an impressively comprehensive look behind the scenes of the modern American election process....So Goes the Nation https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/so_goes_the_nation November 13, 2025 Rotten Tomatoes en Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the episode series season film a score of 65 out of 100, based on 12 critics, indicating "generally favorable" reviews....So Goes the Nation https://www.metacritic.com/movie/so-goes-the-nation Metacritic Fandom, Inc. ...So Goes the Nation critic reviews https://www.metacritic.com/movie/so-goes-the-nation/critic-reviews/ November 13, 2025 Metacritic en Writing for The 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 for 2008."Catsoulis Jeannette October 4, 2006 A Look Back at 2004, When Ohio Was Up for Grabs (Published 2006) https://www.nytimes.com/2006/10/04/movies/04nati.html November 13, 2025 The New York Times en Writing for Variety, Ronnie Scheib praised the film's use of humor, particularly noting the jokes made by the political consultant Paul Begala, but found it somewhat boring overall. Writing for The 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 the montage a "cruel thing of beauty." Writing for The Blade, a newspaper based in Toledo, Ohio, Rob Lockwood praised the film's understanding of the politics of Ohio while admitting the setting was mostly irrelevant to the overarching narrative. He rated the documentary 4/5 stars. However, not all critics enjoyed the film, both Michael Wilmington of Chicago Tribune and Jack Mathews of New York Daily News gave the documentary negative reviews....So Goes the Nation Reviews https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/so_goes_the_nation/reviews November 13, 2025 Rotten Tomatoes en See also Unprecedented: The 2000 Presidential Election, a documentary which covered the 2000 United States presidential election in the battleground state of Florida References External links 0432337 so_goes_the_nation C-SPAN Q&A interview with James Stern and Adam Del Deo about ...So Goes the Nation, November 5, 2006 Category:American documentary films Category:Documentary films about presidential elections in the United States Category:2006 films Category:2004 United States presidential election Category:United States presidential elections in Ohio Category:Politics of Ohio Category:Documentary films about George W. Bush Category:Documentary films about Ohio Category:2006 English-language films Category:Films directed by Adam Del Deo and James D. Stern Category:2006 American films Category:English-language documentary films