Thursday, June 24, 2004
By ROBERT DENERSTEIN
SCRIPPS HOWARD
HE DAY I TALKED TO MICHAEL MOORE,I'd read an item in the New York Daily News contending that this so-called man of the people had a hot tub installed on the balcony of his Manhattan apartment.
Asked about this earth-shattering news earlier this week, Moore laughed. "I don't have a hot tub. I don't even have a balcony."
For his part, Moore has set out to expose bigger lies in "Fahrenheit 9/11," a sprawling look at the Bush administration's role in Iraq.
Moore's movie seems to argue the whole Iraq war was launched by Bush for personal reasons.
"I'm saying it's primarily for personal reasons," said Moore in a phone conversation from his Manhattan apartment.
Allegations
"Personal reasons first because, as he honestly said, 'They tried to kill my daddy.' And personal reasons also for wanting to distract the public from the relationship his family has had with the very country that was behind the murder of 3,000 Americans."
Moore is referring to Saudi Arabia, the nation that bred Osama bin Laden. A justifiable leap?
"Look, if 15 of the 19 hijackers had been from North Korea, the headline ... would have read, 'North Korea attacks the U.S.' If 15 of the 19 had been from Cuba and were funded by Cubans, the headline would have been, 'Castro attacks the U.S.'"
Moore further argues that Bush and associates -- through board memberships, jobs and gifts -- have received $1.4 billion in Saudi money.
"If you gave me $1.4 billion, I'd be real nice to you, too. If you called and asked on Sept. 11 if you can get some people out of the country, I'd do it for you. I'm not really judging [the Bushes]. They just did the human thing."
To show the lengths to which such "gifting" can go, Moore points out that Prince Bandar, the Saudi ambassador to the United States, has donated a $1 million painting for any forthcoming George Bush Library.
Maybe the centerpiece book will be "My Pet Goat," he jokes.
That's the title Bush was reading to Florida schoolchildren Sept. 11 when he was informed of the second attack on the Twin Towers. In "Fahrenheit," we see Bush pondering the information while an off-camera Moore speculates that the president may be wondering whether he spent too much time on vacation.
Media trends
Moore says most Americans assumed the president left the school as soon as he received the information. The filmmaker noticed Bush had been in the building six to 10 minutes longer than reports suggested.
"We were just sitting around thinking, 'How can we get this?' Someone said, 'I wonder if the school videotaped the event?' We called the teacher. 'Oh yeah, we have a tape.' 'Can we have it?' 'Sure.' 'Has anyone else ever asked for it?' 'No.' That's all it required."
Moore uses the story as an example of the failure of the mainstream media, which he suggests has continued in Iraq.
Moore says the media has been so reflexively pro-military, that the Marine Corps didn't bother to ask him why he wanted to follow two eager recruiters around a mall in Flint, Mich. That trip produced a segment in which the recruiters seem willing to say nearly anything to elicit positive responses.
"They just assumed it would be positive," Moore said. "That's a sad commentary on how our media has behaved."
But how are we to know whether the opinions expressed by soldiers in Iraq -- many of whom question the United States' mission -- are widespread?
"I think it's very widespread, but I don't think it's the majority," Moore said. "I think these voices are numerous, and I want to know why we don't see it on the nightly news? The news is being put through a filter. I didn't construct the film that way, but I hope it is seen as an indictment of our media."
Shocking footage
Moore's Iraqi crew also shot footage of Iraqi prisoners being humiliated in much the same way as prisoners in Abu Ghraib. Moore had this footage before the Abu Ghraib news broke, but chose not to release it. He thought the media either wouldn't respond or would accuse him of seeking publicity.
"In some ways, the abuse footage in the movie is more damning because it looks so commonplace. It almost flies by," he said.
Criticism not new
After Moore's last movie -- the Academy Award-winning "Bowling For Columbine" -- he talked about exploring the Bush connection to the bin Ladens.
At least one conservative group already is urging theater chains not to play the movie, and there will be no shortage of commentators who will attempt to demolish Moore's every contention.
Anticipating his critics, Moore says he hired Chris Lehane and Mark Fabiani, both of whom served as political advisers to Bill Clinton and Al Gore. They'll lead a team that will issue releases that support Moore's assertions.
As for that phantom hot tub. ...
"The opposition thinks it can undercut me with the mass audience. They say, 'He's actually a rich guy.' They fail to understand that if a working-class person from Queens read that, they'd be going, 'Hot damn. Dude has a hot tub.'"