Bipolar nation

The success of Moore's Fahrenheit 9/11 caused Travis to drop a Bush tirade and is also proving how divided our nation is right now. Ticket sales are not being driven by curious Republicans. It's an almost entirely Democratic crowd, folks. Think of how a CNN documentary of Bush's first term would have been received by crowds. Moore, just like conservative talk radio hosts discovered years ago, learned that preaching to the choir is both easier and more lucrative. Who among a liberal audience would say, "I think you're being unfair to Bush here."

Would any open-minded but fair individual walk into F9/11 and appreciate the bull Moore was spreading? Most would balk at how he patronizes the presumably liberal audience. Most of these open-minded but fair individuals would react similarly if they listened to Rush Limbaugh or any other Republican bomb thrower.

Atlantic's P.J. O'Rourke writes about this new persuasion method in this month's edition. O'Rourke says he finally realized who Rush Limbaugh was yelling at all this time: Republicans. All of conservative talk radio is, as O'Rourke put it, convincing the convinced:

I wonder, when was the last time a conservative talk show changed a mind? ... Arguing, in the sense of attempting to convince others, seems to have gone out of fashion with everyone. I'm reduced to arguing with the radio. The distaste for political argument certainly hasn't made politics friendlier—or quieter, given the amount of shouting being done by people who think one thing at people who think the same thing.

The same could be said for Moore. The reason Moore can present such shallow and easily refutable evidence is because he's persuading his audience of something they already believe. In fact, no one argues to pursued anymore. Primarily it's because no one actually seems to talk politics with people they don't agree with. You're only supposed to talk politics with people you agree with.

Which brings me back to F9/11. Who was it written for? Lock, stock and barrel conservatives like me? No. It was written for yellow-dog Democrats. In politics, they'd call it firing up the base. Bush does it when he speaks to evangelicals. Kerry does it when he talks to latte-sipping, post-hippie yuppies.