NEW YORK - Pivotal presidential campaigns are frequently defined in retrospect by documentaries.

“The War Room” chronicled Bill Clinton’s political operation in 1992, adding a phrase to the political lexicon in the process. Alexandra Pelosi’s “Journeys With George” captured the oddities of a national campaign on board George W. Bush’s airplane in 2000.

The makers of “By the People: The Election of Barack Obama,” which premieres today - Election Night - on HBO, wouldn’t mind the same status.

“That was our hope - that we would create something for history,” sa...

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