By John Maynard
Washington Post Staff Writer
Thursday, October 18, 2007

When 94-year-old Doris "Granny D" Haddock made her quixotic run for a U.S. Senate seat in 2004, she faced obstacles beyond finances, position papers and campaign personnel issues.

"I forgot my teeth," Haddock tells her son as they drive to a televised debate -- a scene captured in the top-notch HBO documentary "Run Granny Run," which chronicles her unlikely, ultimately unsuccessful New Hampshire race against Republican incumbent Judd Gregg.

Directed by Marlo Poras, this entertaining, engrossing documentary originally was intended to chronicle the politically active nonagenarian's efforts to register voters. But when the presumptive Democratic nominee dropped out of the race in 2004, Haddock jumped in, and Poras had a new film on her hands.

Haddock is no novice to politics; in 1999, she walked across the country to support campaign finance reform, and was greeted like a hero by some on Capitol Hill. But running for office was a whole other undertaking.

The film is by no means an unsympathetic take on Haddock. Poras refrains from fawning, instead offering a warts-and-all look at a Senate campaign facing overwhelming odds. The director also captures the Democratic Party's desperation three years ago, as party leadership, viewing her race as a long shot, sent their resources elsewhere.

On the campaign trail, Haddock displays moxie, charm and a bit of bluster -- at one point boldly asserting, "I love the smell of landslides in the morning" in her distinct New Hampshire accent.

She also shows her fangs, snapping at a strategist who wants to prep her during a strenuous walk, and firing a campaign worker because she didn't see eye-to-eye with Granny over cutting the payroll to buy commercial time.

In one heartbreaking scene that's skillfully filmed, Haddock attends a speech by presidential candidate Howard Dean, where she is assured by a staffer that she will get an audience with him. As she elbows her way through the crowd to get near him, Dean flies past her without acknowledgment. "I feel like such a fool," Granny says as she chases him outside to no avail.

"Dean's just a Democrat," her son Jim tells her on the ride home. "The Democratic Party is too fearful to be useful."

But it's in Haddock's private moments when we see her filled with self-doubt and fear. "Dear God, please do not let me make a fool of myself," she says kneeling at her bed, nearly to the point of tears, the night before her one televised debate with Gregg.

There's no real suspense here. We are never led to believe that Haddock has a shot at the seat (she ultimately wins an impressive 34 percent of the vote). But there's certainly tension leading up to her debate. Her preparation is disastrous, but from what we see in the film, she seems to pull it off.

As for Gregg, he will win no converts from the film. In one scene, he patronizes Granny when they bump into each other on the campaign trail. And during the debate, Gregg is visibly dismissive of Haddock. When Haddock puts a question to him about whether his "special-interest money is beginning to compromise our safety," Gregg replies smugly: "That's a rhetorical question, whoever wrote it."

Although the documentary does Gregg no favors, Haddock comes off very well. And, who knows -- 2008 is right around the corner.

Run Granny Run (78 minutes) premieres tonight at 9 on HBO.