Columns: I went, I saw, I haven't changed my mind

Columns: I went, I saw, I haven't changed my mind: "Okay, if you will stop screaming at me for a moment, I have something to say. I went to see Michael Moore's Fahrenheit 9/11. I even have a witness, although he prefers to remain anonymous until things cool down.
I don't think I've ever felt so estranged from so many readers. I wrote a July 4 column on Moore and his anti-Bush polemic saying I had no plans to see the blockbuster movie because I didn't want demagogues on the left or right setting the standard for political discourse in this country. I didn't think it was a big deal. After all, John Kerry said he has no plans to see Fahrenheit 9/11. I didn't think I needed to see the film in order to comment on it as a political event as long as I had done my homework. I never set out to write a movie review. Doesn't matter, you told me, I should have seen the movie first.

Take this as my peace offering, dear readers, and let's keep talking, even though some of you may find this column more infuriating than the first one. I took your advice and saw Fahrenheit 9/11. Now may I suggest that those of you who have seen the movie and wonder if it all can be real do some fact-checking of your own? It will still leave you with plenty of reasons to vote George W. Bush out of office in November."


By PHILIP GAILEY
Times Editor of Editorials