Oakland man who appears in 'Fahrenheit 9/11' braces for criticism [View All]

[wyldwolf]

Do you agree?



You'd think Oakland resident Barry Reingold would be the first to see "Fahrenheit 9/11," Michael Moore's scathing documentary about President Bush and his response to the Sept. 11 attacks.

He's an ardent progressive, ACLU member and former union representative who once got into an argument at his local gym for saying Bush was worse than Osama bin Laden. In fact, that exchange and its chilling aftermath were included in Moore's documentary, which opened on Friday.

But Reingold, 62, is no hurry to see the controversial film -- which is playing, minus an "R" rating, at the Grand Lake Theater, a few blocks from his house. He received a last-second invitation to see a preview Thursday, but declined after coming down with a cold.

His lack of urgency stems partly from the long lines outside theaters, partly from his belief that the movie won't go far enough.

"I think Michael Moore's agenda is to get Bush out, but I think it (should be) about more than Bush," said Reingold, an independent, on Saturday. "I think it's about the capitalist system, which is inequitable. They're laying people off, cutting off health care, and the few people on top are getting more rich and powerful."

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Despite his distaste for Bush, he said Democratic presidential candidate Sen. John Kerry is no better. In fact, if he voted -- which he doesn't -- he wouldn't vote for either of them.

"I think both of them are bad," he said. "I think Kerry is actually worse because he gives the illusion that he's going to do a lot more. Bush has never given that illusion. People know that he's a friend of big business."



http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2004/06/27/BAG0T7CUHP1.DTL