Was an Academy Award intended to help Obama?

By Marc Sheppard

Many will wake up this morning quite surprised that Michael Moore's much touted and morning line favorite Sicko failed to pick up the Best Documentary Oscar^TMlast night. Perhaps they shouldn't be.

Sure, Moore's completely over the top repudiation of our health-care system is just the type of anti-America rubbish academy members normally adore. But this year they were afforded a better choice. A choice, by the way, far less likely to reignite the candidacy of Hillary Clinton, while much more likely to fortify that of their latest darling -- Obama.

Chosen from a slew of nominated war films, some balanced (Operation Homecoming: Writing the Wartime Experience), some not (No End in Sight), this year's winner further captured liberal hearts by eviscerating their no-no du jour -- torture.

Taxi to the Dark Side, tells the story of Dilawar, an Afghan taxi driver who was allegedly beaten to death by American soldiers in the Bagram prison. With heavy overtones of Abu Ghraib and Guantanamo, the flick carelessly oversimplifies the administration's "war on terror" as an immoral and ineffectual series of broken laws, both domestic and international.

Still, it's the stuff that Obamamaniacs love. The stuff the candidate himself can also blame his opponent's Iraq vote for, notwithstanding the fact that Bagram is in Afghanistan.

And, while both candidates now condemn all forms of torture, Obama is quick to point out that while he would oppose torture "without exception or equivocation," his opponent once made the "ticking time bomb" exception.

Okay, so Dark Side is hardly a household name -- just wait. HBO has recently announced its purchase of pay-TV rights and intentions to air the documentary in September. Given McCain's recent surprise vote against a bill preventing the CIA from using waterboarding and other interrogation methods on terror suspects, such a buzz within months of election day could play well to Obama's "I'm pure" rhetoric.

Now suppose, instead, Moore had walked off with the trophy.

In truth, the trouble-loving director has recently complained that neither candidate's health-care proposals are quite socialist enough for him and accused them each of accepting huge donations from the industry. And Sicko actually takes Hillary to task for lack of performance as much as it gives her an A for previous efforts.

No matter. A win by lefty adored Moore -- who hoped Fidel Castro might be his Oscar date -- would have certainly been exploited by the left as an opportunity to push their beloved national health insurance plan back into the limelight. After all, it worked for Gore.

And such buzz may have worked in the namesake of Hillarycare's favor moving into Texas and Ohio next month.

Far fetched, you say?

Maybe. Then again ....