Tool time

The easy response to Christopher Hitchen's attack on Michael Moore's new film is to note that the (in my opinion amazing) Trials of Henry Kissinger played at the Film Forum on Houston Street, while Fahrenheit 911 is likely to be bringing in the pimps and okies from off of Times Square.

But you could also answer quite a few of his points from the detached elitist, oh-so-smug liberal viewpoint, and say that if George Bush was the deeply flawed means of removing one of the vilest rulers in the middle east (and Mr. H has always been careful to stop short of loving the messenger), then Michael Moore is the deeply flawed means of removing George W Bush.

Plus he's from Michigan, and can therefore do no wrong. Bit trite that, but I'd rather send some liberals into a movie theater to work up some anger than spend hours parsing the 9-11 Commission's findings, which seem more opaque than Hitch, or the New York Times, for that matter, say.