'Fahrenheit 9/11' Making GOP Nervous I'm not a MM fan---but.... __htt

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> 'Fahrenheit 9/11' Making GOP Nervous

> I'm not a MM fan---but....

>

> http://www.truthout.org/docs_04/072304Z.shtml

> 'Fahrenheit 9/11' Making GOP Nervous

> By Mike Glover

> The Associated Press

> Thursday 22 July 2004

 

> Des Moines, Iowa - Republicans initially

> dismissed

> " Fahrenheit 9/11 " as a cinematic screed that would

> play mostly to

> inveterate Bush bashers. Four weeks and $94 million

> later, the film is

> still pulling in moviegoers at 2,000 theaters around

> the country, making

> Republicans nervous as it settles into the American

> mainstream.

> " I'm not sure if it moves voters, " GOP

> consultant Scott Reed

> said, " but if it moves 3 or 4 percent it's been a

> success. "

> Two senior Republicans closely tied to the White

> House said

> the movie from director Michael Moore is seen as a

> political headache

> because it has reached beyond the Democratic base.

> Independents and

> GOP-leaning voters are likely to be found sitting

> beside those set to

> revel in its depiction of a clueless president with

> questionable ties to

> the oil industry.

> " If you are a naive, uncommitted voter and

> wander into a

> theater, you aren't going to come away with a good

> impression of the

> president, " Republican operative Joe Gaylord said.

> " It's a problem only

> if a lot of people see it. "

> Based on a record-breaking gross of $94 million

> through last

> weekend, theaters already have sold an estimated 12

> million tickets to

> " Fahrenheit 9/11. " A Gallup survey conducted July

> 8-11 said 8 percent of

> American adults had seen the film at that time, but

> that 18 percent

> still planned to see it at a theater and another 30

> percent plan to see

> it on video.

> More than a third of Republicans and nearly

> two-thirds of

> independents told Gallup they had seen or expected

> to see the film at

> theaters or on video.

> " Fahrenheit 9/11 " opened in June mainly in

> locally owned

> arts theaters that specialize in obscure films and

> tiny audiences. Drawn

> in part by the buzz surrounding the film, people

> packed the theaters and

> formed long lines for tickets. Within a week, it was

> appearing in

> chain-owned theaters along with " Spider-Man 2, " " The

> Notebook " and other

> big summer attractions.

> When he sat down to watch the film at the

> Varsity Theater in

> Des Moines last weekend, Rob Sheesley didn't harbor

> anti-Bush feelings.

> Two hours later, he left with conflicted emotions.

> " You want to respect the president, " Sheesley

> said. " It

> raised a lot of questions. "

> Bush's leadership in the wake of the Sept. 11,

> 2001,

> terrorist attacks had impressed retired teacher

> Lavone Mann, another Des

> Moines moviegoer. After watching the film, Mann

> wanted to know more

> about its claims.

> " I guess that I think it makes me want to pursue

> how much of

> it is accurate and not just get carried away with

> one film, " she said.

> " I don't hear Bush and (Vice President Dick) Cheney

> saying that this is

> incorrect. "

> Retired college professor Dennis O'Brien, a Bush

> voter in

> 2000 and a movie buff who has seen other Moore

> films, said " Fahrenheit

> 9/11 " hasn't changed his view of Bush but may well

> serve a larger

> purpose by sparking debate.

> " Moore forces you to think about the role of oil

> in the

> politics of American life, " O'Brien said. " This goes

> back a long way. "

> In GOP-strong Columbia, S.C., watching the movie

> last week

> at the Columbiana Grande tipped 26-year-old David

> Wood's support more to

> the left.

> " I don't consider myself a Republican or a

> Democrat. I just

> vote for whoever is right for the job, " the

> University of South Carolina

> student said. " I think most people don't bother to

> really research, and

> all they need is something popular to sway them. "

> Others at the screening in Columbia were put off

> by what

> they saw as the film's biased approach to examining

> Bush and the reasons

> he took the country to war. For Scott Campbell, 19,

> the movie reinforced

> his apathy toward politics.

> " We didn't even stay to see the whole thing, "

> Campbell said.

> " It was one-sided. "

> Former Iowa Republican Chairman Michael Mahaffey

> said the

> movie's impact could be dulled over time. " It's

> July, " he said.

> " Conventional wisdom will change completely every

> four or five weeks. "

> Still, " Fahrenheit 9/11 " is likely to gain an

> even wider

> audience when it's released on home video in the

> weeks before Election

> Day. The Gallup survey found that nearly half of the

> Republicans and

> independents who expect to see the film said they

> were likely to view it

> on video.

> " In all honesty, in a very close election, who

> knows what

> will sway the public? " Mahaffey said.

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