Posted by
John on Wednesday, October 29, 2008 12:00:00 AM
As the presidential election of 2008 quickly winds down, it is easy to forget how Barack Obama’s rhetoric has changed so bluntly in the last several weeks and months.The campaign that wanted to talk about the issues is the one that released an advertisement that questioned McCain’s ability to use a computer. The campaign that wanted to talk about hopefulness, change, and the future is now spending unprecedented money talking about the last eight years and criticizing John McCain for being just like George W. Bush. “Change we can believe in” is turning out to be the hollow mantra of a candidate who follows says one thing but does another. In other words, Barack Obama follows strictly to the ideology espoused in the title of Peter Schweizer’s book (and now movie), Do As I Say (Not As I Do: Profiles in Liberal Hypocrisy.
Do As I Say (Not As I Do: Profiles in Liberal Hypocrisy), the book by Schweizer, was first introduced to me in a professor’s office at Emerson College. Dr. J Edwin Hollingworth, who was profiled in the July issue of Townhall magazine, fondly recommended the book to me. Shortly thereafter, I read it and was engrossed in chapter upon chapter of liberal hypocrisy ranging from Al Gore’s environmental practices versus his environmental politics to Michael Moore’s everyman routine on film versus his millionaire routine in real life. For those who have read the book and enjoyed it and for those who have not read the book, there is good news. There is a movie adaptation of the book called Do As I Say being released.
I recently had the opportunity to see an advance screening of the nearly-finished film and I was impressed by it. Although the politically-charged book does not automatically promise the potential to be a movie, the film does a good job at capturing the hypocrisies on the left that the book describes so well. For those crying foul about the partisanship of the book, however, the film does open by reminding viewers that there have been conservative hypocrisies in the past but the main focus of the movie is detailing the disturbing dichotomy of what liberals say and what they do.
The plot of the movie can ultimately be summarized as a movie about a regular guy who is trying to understand how and why so many strident liberals are so comfortable in saying one thing in their public life but doing quite another behind the scenes. The film wanders off into comedy as an actor plays the part of a billionaire who shares the Do As I Say philosophy but the majority of the film is a retelling of the main points and chapters of Schweizer’s book. The actor playing the billionaire, who clearly states that he is not one in real life, is used as a comic effect to personify the political hypocrisy of the left.
Although one could argue that people should just read the book, I think that the film definitely adds quite a bit to Schweizer’s arguments. Aside from being a refresher course to those, like myself, who read the book several years ago, the film also includes some funny scenes, one of which is a direct imitation of Michael Moore’s filmmaking style. In those scenes, Nicholas Tucker, the director, tries to directly ask Michael Moore about Moore’s stocks that the liberal director clearly denies having in public. Tucker goes so far as to try to visit Moore’s home for stock tips (bearing a cake, no less). Amazingly, Moore, the director who gained fame from trying to get an interview with a well-known business leader (see Roger and Me) is too busy to talk to a little known filmmaker about his private financial dealings that directly conflict with his public persona.
How ironic.
Barack Obama claims to want to bring this country together but his rhetoric is often divisive and stridently ideological. His advocates would probably argue that his campaign has opened a new chapter in American politics. It is far more likely that his campaign will open a new chapter in a much-needed sequel to the book Do As I Say (Not as I Do)…