Michael Moore, self-proclaimed outspoken liberal, said no student - no American - should refer to George Bush as the president of the United States.
"I don't refer to him as that," said Moore, a 49-year-old documentary filmmaker and author, at a news conference before speaking to a more-than capacity crowd at UNM's Popejoy Hall Tuesday night. "One of the basic principles of our democracy is that every vote gets counted. Whoever has the most votes wins. But that's not what happened in 2000. Bush stole the White House. But I'm not speaking with sour grapes here. I wasn't for Gore. If Gore had stolen it from Bush, I'd make the same statement."
Moore's stop at UNM, co-sponsored by Popejoy and Student Special Events, came in the middle of a 33-city, 23-day tour in support of his most recent book, "Dude, Where's My Country?"
Tuesday, he said, was not his first time in Albuquerque. Moore and his wife spent the first night of their honeymoon in the Duke City years ago, he said.
"I'm here because I never could speak to a large crowd here before," Moore said. "There are a lot of good people in New Mexico and I'm looking forward to being here."
He will speak this afternoon in Santa Fe before heading to Stockton, Calif.
Get content from The Daily Lobo delivered to your inbox
His upcoming film, "Fahrenheit 911," will include scenes from New Mexico, he said.
"Dude, Where's My Country?" begins with seven questions Moore said need to be asked of Bush regarding his family's relationships with the bin Ladens and Saudi royal family.
Despite none of the questions being answered yet, he said, the responses to Moore and his book have been resoundingly favorable nationwide; never negative.
"You would think after the Oscars, right?" Moore said. "But really, it was just those six people booing me."
Moore made several disparaging remarks against the Bush administration and the war in Iraq at this year's Academy Awards ceremony, after winning best documentary for his film "Bowling for Columbine."
Moore also told reporters the United States' electoral system needs an overhaul - in three parts.
First, he said, "we need to go to an instant run-off," where voters would mark a first and second choice on the ballot. Second, Congress should be made more representational of the political climate of the American people. And finally, Moore said, "We need to vote the old-fashioned way; what I call the Canadian way," with a paper ballot and a pencil.
Inside Popejoy, which more than exceeded its 2,004 capacity, with people watching the speech on monitors in the hallway, Moore took the stage to a standing ovation.
He encouraged the audience to speak out against injustice, regardless of repercussions from "the conservative right."
"People become afraid," he said. "Remember when people spoke out against the war before and had to follow it up with 'I support the troops?' What about the (expletive deleted) economic situation in this country that made them have to join the armed forces to support themselves? Of course you support the troops. You've always supported them."
Toward the end of the presentation, Moore took audience questions, during which he left a telephone message for Rep. Heather Wilson, R-NM, among other Republican lawmakers.
