I admire Michael Moore. When God distributed gifts, He endowed Moore with a rare gift for story-telling. Any communicator would do well to learn from Moore's prodigious gift for spinning a yarn or sharing a tale. If only God had also endowed Moore with a brain. Moore has become America's scarecrow.

Moore's newest film, “Capitalism: A Love Story,” debuted in theaters this weekend. I did not attend. When I fork out my hard-earned cash for entertainment, I do not like to support ignorance and gall. When I view documentaries, I prefer for the writer and producer to have a functioning knowledge of the subject upon which he or she opines. Sadly, my self-imposed prerequisites for participation prohibit me from being able to enjoy Moore's work.

Remarkably, Michael Moore fails to see the irony dripping from his own ability to profit personally in mammoth proportions from his anti-capitalist tirade. According to Fortune magazine, Moore's films have grossed over $300,000,000 worldwide, and his personal fortune is in the neighborhood of $50,000,000. Good for him. A worker deserves his wages, and Moore has worked hard to tell his stories.

However, Moore exhibits a credibility gap when his new movie concludes with statements like, “Capitalism is an evil, and you cannot regulate evil,” and "You have to eliminate it and replace it with something that is good for all people and that something is democracy."”

First, let us not spend time educating Moore on the difference between an economic system (capitalism) and a political system (democracy). Clearly, facts do not matter much in his world of documentary fiction.

Rather, let us note that he may be the biggest self-deceiver of them all, not to mention a first-rate hypocrite. To amass a personal fortune of $50MM through a system you call intrinsically evil is to participate in, and be complicit with, an intrinsic evil. Would Moore say that his work is intrinsically evil? Probably not. Are his outlandish comments not a lot like a wealthy abortion doctor's railing against Roe v. Wade and pontificating on the sanctity of human life?

Moore tries to distance himself from capitalism even as he effectively maneuvers his way to personal profit. When asked recently by a reporter how he reconciles his participation in and profit from the “evil” system of capitalism, Moore replied, “Well, capitalism did nothing for me, starting with my first film.” “You know, I had to pretty much beg, borrow and steal,” he said. “The system is not set up to help somebody from the working class make a movie like this and get the truth out there.”

In other words, poor Michael had to struggle as a start-up entity. Much like Apple's starting in a garage.Much like McDonald's starting with a single location. Much like every other entrepreneurial venture ever launched in capitalist America. Is Moore ignorant of the basic principles of private capital and private ownership? Or is he the supreme manipulator, spouting propaganda he does not really believe in but laughing all the way to the bank? The former appears more plausible. Continued...