The 2004 Jackass of the Year - Michael Moore

As we end this momentous year, I am taking the opportunity to reflect on the months gone by. Who, during 2004, was the most idiotic, the most outrageous, the most just plain wrong about almost every issue? Not Dan Rather, though he was a close second. Instead, the first annual Jackass of the Year award goes to (who else could it be?)...Michael Moore.

Now, it takes more than just mere stupidity to be the Yearly Jackass. No, if that was the criteria, we could have chosen Linda Rondstadt, say, or Ben Affleck. What makes Moore particularly outrageous is his blantant falsehoods that HE KNOWS are falsehoods, all while maintaining the guise of a 'whistle-blower'. Meanwhile, the populist slob sits on his fat butt eating double cheeseburgers while the millions roll in from the gullible 'Progressives'.

Lest you think I exaggerate the willfulness of Moore's falsehoods, consider this very recent headline on his webpage: $40 million for Inauguration, $35 million for Tsunami. It takes a special kind of liar to pretend that he thinks that $35 million will be the grand total we spend on the disaster relief. Very little research is required to learn that the $35 million is an initial allotment that existed in a special fund, and that George W. Bush is even as I type this forming a coalition to provide further, massive aid to the victims. Moore is many things: a propagandist, a rabid Bush-hater, a false 'man of the people', but stupid he is not. He KNOWS this is false, but he could care less.

Nothing epitomizes the selfish foolishness of Moore better than his flip-flopping over his masterpiece of dementia, Fahrenheit 9/11. Moore's outlandish film was so full of distortion that entire websites have been devoted to debunking it, but it was clearly meant to damage Bush in every way, including the timing of its theatrical and DVD releases. To quote ABC's 'The Note':

USA Today's Kasindorf and Keen give "Fahrenheit 9/11" USA Today's "Cover Story" treatment, questioning whether the movie will change voters' minds before the elections.

The duo report that Michael Moore told them part of his goal is to persuade Naderites to vote for Kerry...

Now, this interview relates how Moore peddled the falsehood that Disney was censoring the movie because they felt it could affect the outcome of the election:

Moore said he drew audiences to showings of his movie without telling them in advance that they would be seeing the new film. He said that the reactions from those screening were overwhelmingly positive and reported news of the ovations to the studio and then Disney had an exec take a look at the movie. Disney then decided that it was too hot to handle, concluding that it might affect the outcome of the election and telling Miramax that it could not release the picture. "I had an early sense that this would resonate with an audience," Moore explained.

Doesn't that sound like Moore was deluded enough to think he could bring down a president to you? The election didn't turn out as planned, though, and Moore couldn't just admit defeat. Here he is in a more recent interview:

For the moment, Mr. Moore continues to be involved in "Fahrenheit 9/11." In an earlier conversation, he said he was "still in the thick of making sure as many people see this film as possible." Describing the movie as "about the Iraq war and the war on terrorism and the use of fear to manipulate the public," he added, "I started it before there was Bush versus Kerry."

Sure, Michael, that's why you included the scenes about Bush 'stealing' the 2000 election; that's why your corpulent visage was so prominent during the conventions; that's why you published (and continue to publish) rant after rant on your website - now that his dream has gone south, Moore hopes he can peddle the myth that it was never about "Bush versus Kerry" (while it may not have been about Kerry as a specific candidate, it was ALWAYS about defeating Bush). The new storyline is that Kerry was a bad candidate (Moore sang his praises to the rafters before he lost) and that it was people like brave, heroic Michael Moore who kept the election as close as it was.

As infuriating as Moore is, though, I hope he keeps making his movies, keeps popping off in public, and keeps posting outrageous screeds on the web - there can be no better example to the world of what a raging 'Progressive' is like when cornered. With friends like Moore, the Democrats will never need enemies - picture Tom Daschle shaking Moore's hand after a screening of 'Farenfat 9/11' and grinning like a hyena and I'm sure you'll agree.

Michael Moore, enjoy the crown, you wear it so well...