'Fahrenheit 911': Most Democrats and Independents Give Michael Moore's Movie Good Marks and Think it Treats President Fairly (Press Release)

'Fahrenheit 911': "Michael Moore's movie, Fahrenheit 911, seems to be adding to the political polarization in this already highly polarized election year. It may also be having some political impact. These are some of the conclusions to be drawn from a new Harris Poll, conducted online with 2,242 adults between July 12 and 16, 2004.
Many more Democrats (17%) than Republicans (7%) have seen the movie. And many more Democrats (30%) than Republicans (10%) think it very likely that they will see it. When they see it their reactions are very different. Democrats overwhelmingly (89%) give it positive ratings; most Republicans (56%) give it negative ratings. Almost all Democrats (85%) think it treats President Bush fairly; most Republicans (58%) think it treats him unfairly.
The political impact?

In terms of its possible impact on November's election, the most interesting results are the replies given by independents. In most recent presidential elections, the candidate who received the most independent votes won. The bad news for the White House in this survey is that independent voters are behaving more like Democrats than Republicans. They are as likely as Democrats to have seen "Fahrenheit 911" (18% compared to 17%) and are much likely than Republicans to expect to see it (20% compared to 10%). And when independent voters see the movie they mostly give it good marks (70% positive) and think it is fair (56%).

Also bad news for the president is that significant minorities of Republican viewers of the movie give it positive ratings (44%) and think it treats the president fairly (30%). The best news for the White House may be that, notwithstanding its box office success, most voters (and almost all Republicans) will not see the film."