Michael Moore at Marist?

Not being an expert on health care and the numerous proposals calling for universal coverage, I found Congressman John Hall's forum on the issue last night at Marist College quite informative, and I'm sure I wasn't the only one.

But I had a sneaking suspicion that a significant portion of the audience fell under the heading "preaching to the converted." One young man, a Marist student who said he suffers from a disability and from the health insurance nightmare that comes with it, made an impassioned plea for help to John Hall, however, many of the people who addressed the panel identified themselves as affiliated with advocacy organizations, typically Democratic or progressive in nature. Some had set up a display outside the auditorium with signs and pamphlets calling for single-payer national health care coverage, and I rode on the elevator before the forum with a man and his daughter, a Vermont physician, who each clutched signs advocating the same.

Of course, their views count as much as "ordinary" residents, and Hall seemed conscious of the diverse backgrounds of his audience. He also is scheduled to meet later this week with small business owners.

So what does this all have to do with Michael Moore, you ask? Not much. Except that before the forum a young woman, possibly college-age, tried to stick a hand-made sign to the wall outside the auditorium announcing the upcoming release of Moore's new documentary, "Sicko," about the country's health care conundrum.

Hall's chief of staff, Jean Bordewich, sternly told the woman to take the sign down. Hall wanted to hear all points of view, Bordewich said, and wouldn't let the forum be hijacked by one side or the other. Even so, she said it was fine to hand out the informational brochures, which could never hope to be as polarizing as the director of "Fahrenheit 9/11."