In New Documentary, Obama Confronts a Country on the Brink

The Obama campaign on Thursday night released “The Road We’ve Traveled,” a 17-minute video with a series of screenings at its campaign offices nationwide and a live stream on YouTube.

The video uses archival news footage, interviews with administration officials and a flurry of statistics to create a narrative arc for President Obama’s first three years in office: He became president when the country was in miserable shape, fought against obstinate resistance to make bold reforms, like overhauling health care and ending the military’s “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy, and put the country back on track.

The documentary has glossy Hollywood production values — it was directed by Davis Guggenheim, the Oscar-winning director of “An Inconvenient Truth,” and is narrated by Tom Hanks — but relies on many of the traditional trappings of a campaign ad. There he is, laughing with cute children. Or embracing an old woman. Watch him as he fist-bumps a supporter.