OPINION:
Polls show a neck-and-neck horse race between Barack Obama and Mitt Romney for the presidency, but it might not be so close in November. Lines at movie theaters, book purchases and music downloads all point to a red tide in November.
The new documentary, “2016 Obama’s America,” is one indicator of a fired-up conservative base. The $2.5 million feature examines the causes and consequences of President Obama’s policies, projecting them out through a grim second term. “2016” has been a surprise hit, earning over $10.5 million and generating long lines and applause wherever it is shown. It’s already the No. 6 all-time political documentary according to Boxoffice Mojo, having surpassed Michael Moore’s “Roger and Me” (No. 8 at $6.7 million) but still far behind such leftist standards as Mr. Moore’s “Fahrenheit 9/11” (No. 1 at $119 million) or Al Gore’s scary science-fiction drama, “An Inconvenient Truth” (No. 3 at $24 million).
The film is based on Dinesh D’Souza’s character study of Mr. Obama, “Obama’s America: Unmaking the American Dream,” and other writings that explore the president’s cryptic background, the reasons for his unmerited success and the dangerous course he has charted in office. Whether Mr. Obama is tearing down America intentionally or through sheer incompetence is something to be debated among the rubble of our once-flourishing civilization. Fueled by the current crisis, “2016” has been drawing crowds through word-of-mouth advertising and promotion over social media and talk shows.
Mr. D’Souza is also doing well on Amazon.com’s Election Heat Map, which shows where people are buying “red” and “blue” political books. “Obama’s America” is the No. 3 red book, behind Edward Klein’s “The Amateur” and Bill O’Reilly’s “Killing Lincoln.” Amazon cautions, “Books aren’t votes, so a map of book purchases may reflect curiosity as much as commitment.” If that’s the case, there are a lot of Obama supporters taking a walk on the Mitt side. If the Amazon map reflected the November election, the popular vote would be 58 percent Romney to 42 percent for Obama. Mr. Obama would win only four states and the District of Columbia, and the electoral vote would be a Romney rout of 488 to 50.
Patriotism is alive in the music industry, too. In June, Current TV’s Bill Press said, ” ’The Star Spangled Banner’ is stupid and embarrassing.” In response to this and other insults, the Madison Rising music group recorded a version of “The Star Spangled Banner” that is wildly popular, charting as the No. 2 MP3 download in the Adult Alternative category on Amazon.com. The group’s music video of the anthem has over 565,000 views, and the number is increasing exponentially. Madison Rising issued a “Star Spangled Banner Challenge” to reach 1 million views by Election Day in order to prove “that we still believe in this country and our National Anthem.” Despite what the chattering class may think, the songsmiths contend its “updated, rock-infused version of the national song is anything but embarrassing … in fact, it one of the most popular songs of the entire summer.”
What people don’t have on their Ipods are the collected speeches of Barack Obama — except for the unfortunate Queen of England, that is.
The Washington Times
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