Didn’t you just love how Hollywood had a Republican Elephant....

[The Lone Liberal]

...squash Liberal Michael Moore.

Then included a Nazis filmmaker in their tribute to quality films. It was also great fun with no one during the whole night bashing the President.

Just goes to show how Corporations know which side their bread is buttered on!

[DenverDem]

1. There were a couple of great bushler jokes by Billy C.

Talking about his first Oscar telecast 13 years ago and how much things had changed since, "bush was in the white house, the economy was tanking and we had just gotten into a war in iraq."

He also talked about the fact that he had been on and off as host of the telecast, "kind of like being in the Texas National Guard."

[tedoll78]

8. I loved the National Guard joke..

"They let me come and go as I please - just like the Texas Air National Guard!" (paraphrasing)
- Billy Crystal, in reference to the academy letting him have the hosting gig for several non-consecutive years

[kiahzero]

2. From reading the official thread

They were bashing the President the entire night.

[Goldom]

3. no one bashing the president?

did you.. watch it..? there were several more than last year when it was only Moore to a booing audience, and they -cheered- for the anti-busdh jokes this time.

[rockymountaindem]

4. How the hell did Leni Reifenshtal get in there?

I thought everybody was happy when she died. The only thing she directed after the Nazi days was some underwater documentary. That's not to mention the rumors of having an affair with Hitler. What a tramp.

[jfxgillis]

5. Disagree strongly

Quite astute and intuitively resonant for the "Industry" to hold back.

Last year, three hours of full-time bashing wouldn't have knocked a point off Bush; this year, three hours of praise wouldn't have earned a point for Bush.

All anti-Bush diatribes would've done is give Bush and his righty-media cohort a foil to effectively work off, especially with the Bushies going into overdrive this week with the opening as salvo.

And Sean Penn got a little WMD shot in under his breath.

[Fenris]

6. Errol Morris said that in the 1960s we went down a rabbit hole

And if we weren't careful, we were going to go down a rabbit hole again (he was talking about Viet Nam and the current nightmare, respectively). Eloquent, restrained, and sharp. It was a statement that did not preach, only observed.

Did you notice how there was near silence when Riefenstahl was honored? It was not a tribute to quality films, it was a tribute to people in the industry who had died in the past year. And regardless of how you feel about her politics, Triumph of the Will was a monumental filmmaking achievement, and many of the techniques she pioneered were picked up by Hollywood. She may have been a Nazi, but she was responsible for revolutionary developments in the field of direction and cinematography. She was honored, but few, if any clapped. That was what she deserved. Mention without acclaim.

You might also want to consider that this is the Academy Awards. It is not a rally. We are polarized enough. I for one watch the Academy Awards because I love filmmaking and enjoy watching the Awards themselves, not because I want to watch various celebriti make political statements. If they do, more power to them. But I'm not going to expect it.

[tedoll78]

12. I was surprised..

by the eloquence of this man. It was a powerful way to state his opinion, but without too much combatative language. Everyone there and everyone at home knew EXACTLY whom he was referring to.

And the applause that followed.. I almost fell off of my sofa! What a contrast to last year!

[Fenris]

14. That's what I loved about it; it was restrained, but sharp

It was not combative or nasty or mean-spirited. It was just an honest observation. And it was very powerful.

[Sandpiper]

7. The limousine liberals of Hollywood

never fail to disappoint on Oscar night.

[Democat]

9. What about the "femi-Nazis"?

If we're doing right wing talking points, why not do all of them?

[Sandpiper]

10. I stand by my assessment of our "friends"

in Hollywood, who dare not offend the establishment on Oscar night. Oh yeah, and honor a nazi propagandist.

[Shakespeare]

11. Dude, Moore was IN ON THE JOKE. It was a JOKE.

geez....

There were repeated jabs at Bush. Did you even watch the show?

And lastly, Riefenstahl wasn't in a tribute to quality films; every year they note who in the industry has died, good AND bad, and that's where she popped up. And the applause stopped when she was mentioned (and there was only a smattering for Elia Kazan, who also died last year).

[tedoll78]

13. Yup.

Of course Moore was in on it! He showed-up to a studio, stood in front of a blue/green screen, and acted-out his part. It was very funny.