Moore rips 'n roars: Filmmaker praises duo who spurred his Utah visit

OREM — Perhaps as a nod to his politics, Michael Moore was liberally cheered and applauded Wednesday by a sold-out crowd that crowed in delight when the "Fahrenheit 9/11" filmmaker launched into a bit of Bush-bashing.

Scattered boos and minor disturbances caused occasional flare-ups at Utah Valley State College's McKay Events Center. But the firestorm surrounding Moore's appearance, which has raged for more than a month, seemed to dissipate as quickly as it began.

Moore, unkempt brown hair peeking out from under a UVSC baseball cap, was cheered throughout his afternoon speech. The crowd also loudly lauded UVSC's student body leaders, who invited Moore and resisted intense pressure both on and off campus to rescind the invitation.

"No amount of money, no threat of recall, nothing would make them back down," Moore said of UVSC student body president Jim Bassi and vice president Joe Vogel.

"If that doesn't give everyone in this room hope for this country that it was students in Utah — not at Berkeley, not Madison, not Ann Arbor — Utah stood up. I can't thank you enough."

Moore, sporting jeans and a baggy black T-shirt, looked like many of the students on the Orem campus. But he played the role of sage elder, urging all the students to vote. A few students even left with packages of underwear — a gift Moore has been bestowing as he completes his "Slacker Uprising Tour."

"Only two more weeks of George W. Bush," Moore yelled, only to be booed by a small group in the events center.

That remark was booed by a small group in the events center.

"Boo! Boo!" Moore mocked back. "We'd feel that way, too, if we only had two weeks left. We understand it's tough knowing that it's almost over. The words 'President Kerry' are upsetting."

Rallying student voters is Moore's goal on his 61-city tour. He wasn't scheduled to come to Utah, but UVSC student leaders begged him to come. Those student leaders drew ire, however, for spending most of its $50,000 budget to book the filmmaker, whose Bush-bashing isn't popular among Utah Valley conservatives.

To counter Moore's liberal viewpoints, UVSC brought in conservative talk show host Sean Hannity last week. Hannity waived his $100,000 speaking fee, but UVSC swallowed a $50,000 bill for his travel.

Moore poked fun at political pundits and conservatives Bill O'Reilly and Rush Limbaugh.

Few were spared Moore's sarcastic jabs. He also took light-hearted aim at members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, who burst into laughter when, after cursing, the filmmaker made a reference to former LDS apostle J. Golden Kimball.