THE FIVE WORST PEOPLE
IN THE WORLD

THIRD EDITION


Newcomer Frank Gaffney finds himself in the number five position this week. Since he just debuted in the Top Ten you should all be aware of his offense, namely using a fictional scene in the upcoming Path to 9/11 movie as irrefutable real life evidence that Bill Clinton didn't have the stones to take out Osama bin Laden. And if that's how proof works in this world, then I stand by my contention that Gaffney is a child molester since I've seen a picture of him fondling a little boy. Granted, I drew the picture myself, but he can use made-up BS to support his views, then I feel I'm entitled to do the same.

At number four is Neil Cavuto. Memo to Cavuto: you're talking points aren't working anymore. When you and your ilk face a credible opponent (in this case, retired General Wesley Clark) who is armed with a cool demeanor and, more importantly, a firm grasp of the facts, your bullshit just doesn't fly anymore. General Clark totally owned you during your five minute interview earlier this week and I can only hope that more Dems take notes. The facts are on our side; let's not be afraid to stand up to the fear-bullies.

Condoleeza Rice and her fractured historical revisions arrive at number three. This woman was the provost at stanford University, for cripes sake! Yet, she's either demonstrating a frighteningly low level of aptitude in matters of American history, or she willfully and criminally distorts history in a lame effort to support her lame arguments. Me, I'm voting for the latter.

Coming in at number two is George W. Bush, who's been going full bore on his FEAR AND LIES U.S. TOUR 2006. No fewer than four stops have been made this week as Bush attempts to shore up some kind of real support for his Iraq policies outside of the kool-aid drinking 30%. Oh, and these political speeches are NOT political speeches. Because he's talking about security and keeping America safe, which of course has nothing to do with politics when it comes to this administration's M.O.

And finally, in the most anti-climatic number one selection in the three weeks that this list has been around, I give you ABC / Path to 9/11, the mega-controversy that has totally consumed both sides of the blogosphere. There are just so many levels to this whole thing, including just what exactly the thing is as it was first a de facto documentary that then became a docu-drama and is now a dramatization. First it was totally based on the 9/11 Commission Report, then it was some kind of based on 9/11 Report to now, where the only thing the two have in common is that there is a nine and an eleven in both titles. You've got the right wingers crying out for the right to free speech as the film should be shown as it was originally fimed - a hit piece on Clinton. Of course, these same wingers were less supportive of free speech rights when it came to a Ronald Reagan biopic back in 2003. That film dared to portray Reagan as something less than an annoited saint so it was obviously unfit for airing. There's the story of how the controversy started as a low rumble and has simply crescendoed into a cacophany of almost universal outrage that 9/11 would be wantonly exploited for political purposes. There's the story of how multiple screeners were sent out to right-wing outlets, but when the former president of the United States wants to view a copy he is flat out denied.

This thing has totally dominated our landscape for the entire week, and whether the movie is shown on Sunday and Monday or not (my money is currently on it being pulled as the backlash to Disney is more than they would have ever expected), I think that it was a major miscalculation on the part of the right-wingers responsible for it. The American public is not dumb and while some will view the film and assume it's fact, eventually even these folks will come to the realization that they've been played, and these people will be angry, just like millions already are.

Back when Disney refused to distribute Michael Moore's Fahrenheit 9/11 documentary, they claimed that "it is not in the interest of any major corporation to be dragged into a highly charged political battle," and that the company "catered to families of all political persuasions and the Moore documentary could alienate viewers." I recommend that Disney go back and read that statement. It's pretty good advice because Disney has much to lose if they make the wrong decision.

Here's the updated tally after three weeks:

George W. Bush - 11 points

Joe Lieberman - 7 points

ABC - Path to 9/11 - 5 points

Donald Rumsfeld - 5 points

George Felix Allen Jr. - 4 points

Condoleeza Rice - 3 points

Ann Coulter - 3 points

Neil Cavuto - 2 points

John McCain - 2 points

Frank Gaffney - 1 point

Hugh Hewitt - 1 point

Dick Cheney 1 point

(Points are awarded based on five points for a first place finish, four points for second and so on. Points will be carried over from week to week.)