Obama Documentary 'The Road We've Traveled' By Davis Guggenheim Reveals Trailer (Video)

With tracking numbers worrisome, competitors making major ad buys and garnering most media attention, and a bankable star on whom to fall back, there was only one thing to do: release a stirring new trailer to drum up interest and silence skeptics.

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Politics is a lot like show business.

A trailer for The Road We've Traveled, the new 17 minute short film about President Obama's first term in the White House, has been unveiled ahead of next week's full film release date. Directed by Davis Guggenheim, the Oscar winning helmer of Al Gore's global warming film An Inconvenient Truth, the mini-documentary eschews day-to-day headlines for a reminder of the perilous economic moment in which Obama ascended to the presidency, using sit down interviews with his closest advisers to paint a picture of a fearless leader tackling seemingly impossible problems.

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Narrated by Tom Hanks, The Road We've Traveled strikes an urgent tone, seemingly picking up where Guggenheim's 2008 campaign film for Obama left off: it was a time for hope and change, that last documentary promised, and this president made those changes and restored that hope.

The film will be released in full next week, and will play at various campaign events this year.