Sunday, June 27, 2004
CNN's CROSS FIRE. For the fun of it we sat in on a taping of Cross Fire with Paul Begala and Tucker Carlson while in D.C. Friday afternoon. The subject matter was Cheney's 'F'-bomb and Michael Moore's new film Fahrenheit 9/11. The Cross Fire show was not very good. Begala (spokesperson for the left) got going a little bit but Tucker (spokesperson for the right) was flat. On the other hand, if you had to be the conservie on this particular show after having seen a special screening of Moore's film, there just wasn't a whole lot to do but mumble lamely about the "incoherent story line."
But I digress. For the record, Cross Fire is a completely contrived show. For all we know, bow-tied Carlson is a closet liberal being paid a hefty paycheck for witty conservie quips. It's a day job. Begala and Carlson aren't 'discussing' anything. They are earning their bacon. Meanwhile the audience gets used for two purposes only -- as fresh fodder for the camera to pan over and as a source of applause. The predominantly Democrat audience gave Begala the claps.
Fahrenheit 9/11 was excellent but not nearly so jaw-dropping for anyone who has really been following the news carefully over the last few years. It too is contrived, but unlike Cross Fire, never makes any pretenses that it isn't. Throughout the movie there were gasps, and "Oh my god's" and a woman who sat crying next to me. There was also thunderous applause at the end. All of which is the sad consequence of an apathetic public just now realizing how far the wool was pulled over their eyes.
As much as Moore wishes otherwise, I'm not so sure the movie will influence the outcome of the election as he hopes. A conservie will watch this movie and still find a way to fit it to his/her conservie-world-view i.e. 'Moore is contorting the facts'; 'Bush might not be perfect but....'; 'The world is better off without Hussein'; 'There still might be weapons of mass destruction,' etc., etc. And don't forget that we have five more months of Kool-Aid making from both sides to endure. Who will concoct the better potion? Well Fox is off to a good start i.e. as of today Fox's website doesn't even make mention of Moore's record-breaking Fahrenheit 9/11 debut... Strange. Everyone else is talking about it. Could it possibly be that Fox News isn't the "fair and balanced" news organization they proclaim to be? Oh say it ain't so....
But I digress. For the record, Cross Fire is a completely contrived show. For all we know, bow-tied Carlson is a closet liberal being paid a hefty paycheck for witty conservie quips. It's a day job. Begala and Carlson aren't 'discussing' anything. They are earning their bacon. Meanwhile the audience gets used for two purposes only -- as fresh fodder for the camera to pan over and as a source of applause. The predominantly Democrat audience gave Begala the claps.
Fahrenheit 9/11 was excellent but not nearly so jaw-dropping for anyone who has really been following the news carefully over the last few years. It too is contrived, but unlike Cross Fire, never makes any pretenses that it isn't. Throughout the movie there were gasps, and "Oh my god's" and a woman who sat crying next to me. There was also thunderous applause at the end. All of which is the sad consequence of an apathetic public just now realizing how far the wool was pulled over their eyes.
As much as Moore wishes otherwise, I'm not so sure the movie will influence the outcome of the election as he hopes. A conservie will watch this movie and still find a way to fit it to his/her conservie-world-view i.e. 'Moore is contorting the facts'; 'Bush might not be perfect but....'; 'The world is better off without Hussein'; 'There still might be weapons of mass destruction,' etc., etc. And don't forget that we have five more months of Kool-Aid making from both sides to endure. Who will concoct the better potion? Well Fox is off to a good start i.e. as of today Fox's website doesn't even make mention of Moore's record-breaking Fahrenheit 9/11 debut... Strange. Everyone else is talking about it. Could it possibly be that Fox News isn't the "fair and balanced" news organization they proclaim to be? Oh say it ain't so....
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