‘Fahrenheit’ takes aim at Bush

JOHN DEPKO

Michael Moore’s latest attack movie makes no pretense at being fair

and balanced. He presents a scathing indictment of every aspect of

the Bush presidency and dares you to challenge his point of view.

Whatever your political persuasion, Moore presents his manipulative

case with savage wit, compelling film clips and provocative

information that demand attention and inspire debate. This happens

because Moore’s strongest points are made on screen by Bush himself.

A teacher’s amateur video shows Bush sitting in a second-grade

classroom on the morning of Sept. 11, 2001. He sits in a little kid’s

chair. He starts reading along with the children a book entitled “My

Pet Goat.” An aide comes into the room and whispers into Bush’s ear

that a second plane has hit the World Trade Center. By this time,

everyone in America understood that we were under a terrible attack.

What does Bush do? Absolutely nothing. He asks no questions. He

gives no orders. He does not leave the room to get more information.

He sits in the little chair for seven excruciating minutes looking

like a deer in the headlights. He stares blankly into space while

3,000 Americans begin to die. Moore returns often to Bush’s long,

blank stare during the film for obvious reasons, but there’s a lot

more.

There’s a humorous account of the bizarre election circus of 2000.

There are disturbing details of many business deals between the Bush

and Saudi royal families. We see the relentless push to invade Iraq.

We see sobbing Iraqi women lamenting their dead relatives. We see

scenes of sudden death for unsuspecting soldiers. We see Marine

recruiters scouring the lower-class neighborhoods of Flint, Mich., to

sign up minority teenagers. We see congressmen look at Moore with

disdain when he suggests that their own children should enlist.

“Fahrenheit 9/11” offers a ton of rapid-fire information that may be

true, but is clearly arranged to follow Moore’s left-wing spin.

But universally heart wrenching is the simple interview of a

mother from Flint, whose son has just been killed in Iraq. Her

tearful lament is in stark contrast to her earlier scenes, when her

son first shipped out, and she was very supportive of the war. Her

political turnaround could be indicative of the American electorate

this year. Agree or not with Moore’s premise, this controversial film

is certain to stir up many heated discussions in this scorching

political year.

* JOHN DEPKO is a Costa Mesa resident and a senior investigator

for the Orange County public defender’s office.