Much of the film focuses on the interaction between politics and the media and the attempts by the Clinton and Bush campaigns to spin public perception of events and news stories.

Additionally, Rahm Emanuel, the future White House Chief of Staff to President Barack Obama and Mayor of Chicago, can be seen in some scenes as a finance director for the Clinton campaign.

Shortly before the 1992 Democratic National Convention, novice producers R.J. Cutler and Wendy Ettinger approached filmmakers D. A. Pennebaker and Chris Hegedus about making a documentary about the then-ongoing 1992 U.S. presidential election.

"[6] The doctored footage and false allegations against Kantor were discussed in the Return of the War Room, a 2008 sequel made by Pennebaker and Hegedus.

The website's consensus reads, "Eye-opening in its access to an array of colorful campaign operatives, The War Room is a valuable time capsule and a riveting study in the art of politicking.

According to an article in the Brisbane Times, George Clooney, Ryan Gosling, and the cast of The Ides of March watched The War Room to "get their bearings" on their characters and life on the campaign trail.