Moore's "Sicko": I can't wait.

Michael Moore's documentary on health care in the U.S., which is getting good reviews at the Cannes film festival, is due out the end of next month. As pointed out today by the New York Times (who interviewed a number of health care experts who'd seen a preview), it could promote the national dialogue on health care. Why not? We're overdue for a fight, not just among policy wonks and presidential candidates (though a real argument would be nice there, too). I'm still waiting for mass protests on the Mall.

A friend of mine argues that Moore is such a polarizing personality that he'll be a distraction. I'll take his point, but counter that (1) we're getting used to him, and (2) raising the issues in a popular/populist format such as this is exactly the kind of exposure the topic needs to set the ball rolling. I'm more worried that the argument will devolve into anecdotes. But that in itself could be a useful opportunity for analysis (e.g., Moore says X, data says Y).

And yes, I will probably take the cost of my ticket as a tax deduction.