Michael Moore is not an easy guy to like. He has an aggressive personality, he can be outright rude sometimes, and he's not exactly easy on the eyes. I would like to say that he's probably a teddy bear on the inside, but I honestly doubt that as well.
Over the past week or so, Moore has given CNN a few gray hairs. As a promotion for his new movie, "SiCKO," Moore joined Dr. Sanjay Gupta on CNN July 10 on Larry King Live. As per any conversation, a few errors were made throughout the segment, errors that challenged the accuracy of the documentary's reporting.
As "The most trusted name in news," CNN was wise to correct an error. However, the ever-eccentric Moore was not satisfied. He demanded that the network apologize for its mistakes, of which he claimed there were many more than the one.
What began was an eight-day battle between the two, armed with open letters posted online and thousands of supporters' phone calls and e-mails. Both groups demanded that the other cite its sources, and both Moore and CNN wrote long, detailed statements, citing sources for nearly every fact uttered on the show.
Moore was vicious and would not accept anything less than a full apology from CNN. Network executives must have doubled the headache medication market. But Monday, CNN admitted that every one of Moore's facts were backed accurately. Some were based on a different source than what CNN used, but all were backed up.
Moore might not be the kind of guy you want to go out to the bars with, but the last week has shown that the man deserves some respect.
The week's battle between Moore and CNN has accomplished Moore's goal even more than his documentary could have done alone -- it stirred up discussion among Americans about the troubling status of healthcare in the nation.
By challenging one another on accuracy, both were forced to double-check, triple-check and have someone else check every fact. The news finally reported more about Paris' healthcare system and less about Paris' jail time.
You might not like Michael Moore, and that's fine, really. But, if you want to see a man stick to his cause and demand thorough reporting, check out his Web site and CNN to see the back and forth from the week. They're simple enough: michaelmoore.com and cnn.com.
Keep an eye on CNN tonight, too. Moore has taken up Wolf Blitzer's invitation to return, and I can promise you it will be an interesting sight.