The Daschle camp is saying there's no way Daschle could have hugged and apologized to Michael Moore after the movie premiere as Moore is saying because there was a Senate vote at 9:44 PM on June 23, the night of the Washington premiere. Even a 9:44 vote, however, would allow Daschle to see the end of the movie, give a hug and apology, and get back for a vote. Also, Daschle didn't need to be there at 9:44, since the 9:44 vote could have been kept open until 10:20 PM, when the next vote was taken. I'm also told that another Senator could handle matters on the floor, so Daschle didn't need to be there to manage the debate. He could sweep in with the help of his Secret Service escort and vote rather quickly. If the movie ended at 9:20 and the first post-F911 premiere vote wasn't over until 10:20, then there's plenty of time for a hug and apology. It also seems a bit odd that Daschle would "leave early" from such a big event, especially since no other Senators said they "left early." Senator Boxer, who was cheering the premiere wildly, made it back for the 9:44--10:20 voting time period, according to the roll call, as did Senators Harkin and Graham. And we know these Senators and others were there to give Moore a standing ovation when it was over AND still make it back for the 9:44-10:20 vote. See this from The New Republic:
Packing the Uptown Theater to the rafters, about 800 people -- including South Dakota Senator Tom Daschle, Florida Senator Bob Graham, and Democratic National Committee Chairman Terry McAuliffe, to name just a few of the prominent Democrats in attendance -- took in Moore's two-plus hours of Bush-bashing, applauding throughout and giving Moore a standing ovation when it was over.
In the conflicting stories between Daschle and Moore--i.e. who's fibbing about the hug and apology--I lean in favor of believing Daschle since Moore is such a proven liar, but it must be said that Daschle's alibi doesn't negate the possibility of the Daschle/Moore hug/apology--in fact, it seems unlikely to me that Daschle "left early" given that so many other Senators stuck around for the standing ovation after the movie and made it back for the 9:44-10:20 vote. And while I know Moore is known for wild stories, they usually involve complex geopolitical conspiracies, not matters of simple fact, i.e. whether a hug/apology took place or not. Also, the mystery of why Moore would say something like this persists. Michael Moore will, at some point, weigh in on this matter and then we may know more about the hug/apology. But the larger issue, it seems to me, is that Daschle went to the premiere at all and missed a "Joseph Welch moment" to distance himself and his party from the nuttiness of Michael Moore.
UPDATE: Michael Illions says it "Depends on what the definition of hug is."
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