First, He's Dishonest. Next, He Lies

Michael Moore's dishonest editing of MN Congressman Mark Kennedy's comments during an ambush interview are back in the news.

Last week, when the movie trailer first appeared on the Internet, it contained Moore's ambush interview of the Watertown Republican. In the preview, the liberal film maker asks Kennedy to help enlist the children of members of congress to fight in Iraq.

Kennedy's reply is not given in the trailer, which annoyed the congressman, because Kennedy said that he had talked about his nephews in the military and fighting overseas. He has two nephews who have served.

On Friday, Moore issued a statement saying none of the exchange between Moore and Kennedy is included in the film. "No statements by Rep. Kennedy are in the film," he statement said. "There was no editing of his remarks."

Someone should do a study on the extent to which careful manipulation of context is behind Michael Moore's success.

Joanne Doroshow, a spokeswoman for Moore's office, said Tuesday that Kennedy appears in the movie as he does in the trailer: for only a few seconds and he doesn't speak.

Kennedy's spokeswoman, Anne Mason, took issue with the "no editing" line.

"His remarks were still edited," she said Tuesday. "They were edited quite a bit - completely out."

In a related matter - Hugh Hewitt notes that the Academy will be simultaneously honoring the passing of Ronald Reagan and, it is likely, at least the nomination of Moore's flim film.

So in this environment, do you think that the Academy will:

• find giving Moore the best documentary politically irresistable, or
• find giving it to Moore politically (and more importantly, commercially) suicidal?

It's going to be an interesting year.

But we all knew that.

Posted by Mitch at June 9, 2004 09:34 AM