"Since Sept. 11, 2001, the Bush administration has succeeded in charting the sharp-right course Democrats worried about during the 2000 election, all the while suppressing dissent by wielding the paddle of patriotism. Then-White House spokesman Ari Fleischer (news - web sites) wasn't kidding when he warned Americans to "watch what they say" two weeks after the attacks. Just ask Howard Dean (news - web sites), Phil Donahue or the Dixie Chicks (news - web sites)."
Difference in roles
"Enter Moore, who has repeatedly reminded us that he is not in the business of rabble-rousing to make friends. And before you can say, "Where are those weapons of mass destruction?" Moore stages a 110-minute "Mission Accomplished" photo-op of his own - one that plays on the fragile emotions and bone-deep concerns of citizens just as successfully (and manipulatively) as the president's aircraft-carrier folly. But there is one big difference: President Bush (news - web sites) is not really a flight-jacketed fighter pilot. Michael Moore, on the other hand, has always been Michael Moore - a man whose singular job is to lift the veil of political self-interest and stare squarely into the mugs of those who control our lives and destinies."
http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/usatoday/20040623/cm_usatoday/michaelmooreisantidotetothebushadministration