Matt Frei's Obama and me (w/t)

13 September 2012

Channel 4 is to broadcast a thought-provoking and entertaining film about Barack Obama's Presidency.  Written and presented by Channel 4's renowned Washington Correspondent, Matt Frei's Obama and me will explore what ordinary Americans think about the man many of his supporters called "Black Jesus".

Commissioned by Channel 4's Head of Factual, Ralph Lee, the 1x49 will see Frei on an election road trip across the Midwest.  Matt travels from Minnesota to Michigan - stopping off at political rallies, Mormon church services, and even a horror convention, to take the temperature of Main Street America in this election year.   

The film will examine the ups and downs of Obama's presidency and in particular it'll focus on what is rapidly becoming an endangered species in America:  the middle class.

Channel 4 News Washington Correspondent, writer and presenter Matt Frei says:  "It is one of the highlights of a reporter's career to take the feverish pulse of this extraordinary nation in a crucial election year in which so much is at stake and in which one of the most charismatic Presidents of recent times could be defeated. We headed to "overfly country", rented a pick up truck and ploughed the middle of middle America to get under the skin of Uncle Sam."

Ralph Lee says "This film will provide an in-depth and engaging look at American politics at this pivotal moment for Britain's closest ally.  We'll follow Matt as he leaves the Washington beltway to get closer to American voters and discover what happened to all the hope and promise that they invested in Obama's election four years ago. "

The Obama Presidency has been a rollercoaster ride.  Obama entered the White House adored by millions; but since then it's been an uphill struggle; wrestling with the worst recession for sixty years, and Republican enemies who are determined to thwart the President at every turn.

Obama has been criticized for political naiveté, for failing to create a clear narrative to explain his policy decisions, and for tactical blunders which have damaged his Presidency.

Many Americans feel that this is an historic election - the last chance to turn around a country that seems in terminal decline.

With the Republican candidate Mitt Romney breathing down his neck in the polls, Matt asks whether Obama - America's first black President - will also be a one-term President?

The film is made by Oxford films, the company behind the True stories: Wikileaks exposure late last year, and will air in November 2012, to coincide with the presidential elections.