A Michael Moore moment

A very funny post from Bill Whittle whose anthology - Silent America, Essays from a democracy at war - has gotten wide acclaim on his run-in with Michael Moore. A touch long but Whittle is brisk and funny:

I mentioned a few weeks ago that Michael Moore was a guest on SUNDAY MORNING SHOOTOUT, for which I am the editor. I recused myself from that taping. There are, to my knowledge, only five people that I fear may cause me to lose control enough to become (progressively) embarrassed, fired, arrested or executed. O.J Simpson is one; the second is the absolutely execrable Ted Rall, and the final three are Michael Moore.

Tucked into a post was a pearl of wisdom. Apparently in the Moore interview, Moore contends that the Republicans have been very successful running actors for political office and that the Democrats need to do the same. Whittle goes into a list of conservative Hollywood actors who have made it to political office: Reagan, Arnold, Fred Thompson, Sonny Bono and then makes the point that they were all miserable actors...

No, some are great movie stars, but generally speaking they’re miserable actors. But in person, truly great personalities. Which tends to confirm a theory of mine, which is that people who are really terrific actors are some of the most boring, colorless, hollow people you would ever be unfortunate enough to meet. I have met a few, and by and large they are simply empty vessels into which better, brighter people – the scientific term for them is writers – pour intelligence, wit, courage and character. That’s why these fictional creations are called characters. They’re the people actors want to be – but due to some defect, some lack of inherent character, these actors cannot go out and actually become such characters: soldiers, astronauts, cowboys – you know, interesting people. People they make movies about. Actors have to pretend to be them. Actually, first writers have to pretend to be them, then the actor takes these written-down make-believe instructions and then adds their own Eye Crinkles, Thoughtful Stares and Charming, Boyish Grins and viola! It’s a lot easier than actually becoming such a person, so you must admire the strategy, at least from a conservation of energy point of view.

There is very little in our safe, sanitary, prosperous world more disappointing than listening to an in-depth interview with a favorite celebrity and discovering, to our growing then endless dismay, that there is a long, long, looooooong way between Gillian Anderson and Dana Sculley. Or to see how far Jack Ryan is from Alec Baldwin. Or from Ben Affleck.

No, these conservative actors did not get elected because they were great actors. They got elected because they grew up. They all went out and had to deal with reality, and the possibility that things might not turn out according to the script. They had the guts to run, which means they had the guts to risk losing.

You know. Being unpopular and all.

I think that there are no liberal actors being elected because none of them have the inner character to take that risk – the risk of unscripted reality. The great actors just don’t seem to have the chops off the set.

Wow. I think I should go out and buy Silent America.

HT: