Wonder what Kaus makes of this:
[Michael Moore] has set up a Web site and “war-room” to defend the claims in the movie—and attack his critics. (The war-room’s overseers are two veteran spin-doctors from the Clinton White House: Chris Lehane and Mark Fabiani.)
Taken from a long debunking on Newsweek's website by Michael Isikoff and Mark Hosenball. [Why a web exclusive? Why isn't it being printed in the magazine? --ed. ] [Knock it off. Who do you think you are, the Blogfaddah?]
I'm pretty much done blogging about The Blob's latest excretion, other than noting that when you're a leftie who's lost Richard Cohen, you might as well hang it up:
It is so juvenile in its approach, so awful in its journalism, such an inside joke for people who already hate Bush, that I found myself feeling a bit sorry for a president who is depicted mostly as a befuddled dope. I fear how it will play to the undecided.
I don't agree with Cohen very often, but I think he's on the money here. I'm guessing the real question regarding Moore's propaganda effort isn't how much it will hurt Bush--those who'd believe it were already voting against him--but rather how much the credibility of the Democratic politicians and media types who kowtowed to Moore last week will suffer in the aftermath. I suspect Tom Daschle in particular will rue his decision to attend the DC premiere.
Here's a question: Are Fabiani and Lehane at work?
Have they attacked Isikoff and Hosenball and Cohen yet?
If so, that would be an interesting fight.
If not, why not?
Tom Daschle should be excoriated in every GOP ad from now until election day about this. "Moderate" South Dakotans won't stand for this crap.
The shole Moore film reminds me of the 70's classic "The Groove Tube." It seemed sort of funny while you watched it, but later, you felt a bit dirty and wish you hadn't.
Hmm...apparently the movie doesn't stand on its own too well if Moore needs to actively handle the reaction to it.
Heard an interesting take on the movie that it actually hurts the effort against Bush from both sides. It will chase away people with its lies and ridiculous leaps of (il)logic, but it will also weaken the case against Bush by trivializing the arguments against him and generating sympathy.
The longer the Dems compound their mistake of associating with Moore by not moderating the message or distancing themselves from him, the uglier it gets for them in the long run. The guy is Agent Smith...he can do a lot of damage, but he's in it for himself and he doesn't really care who he takes down along the way.
I agree with the premise of the article, but I just have to say this.
Cohen wrote:
The case against Bush need not and should not rest on guilt by association or half-baked conspiracy theories,
Doesn't that sentence pretty much sum up almost every Cohen article from before 9/11/01 and after about 1/2002?
