Poll: 'Fahrenheit's' influence is muted

LOS ANGELES, July 23 (UPI) -- "Fahrenheit 9/11" is a commercial hit, but it isn't influencing voters' decisions about the Nov. 2 election, a Los Angeles Times poll indicates.

The audience for Michael Moore's movie is overwhelmingly Democratic, with 78 percent identifying themselves as Democrats. Nine percent said they were independents and 6 percent said they were Republicans.

The poll said 92 percent of those who have seen "Fahrenheit 9/11" plan to vote for Sen. John Kerry for president, while 3 percent said they plan to vote to reelect President George Bush.

Seventy-eight percent said the movie would not change their vote, while 18 percent said the movie made them more likely to vote against Bush and 3 percent said the movie reinforced their support for Bush.

Andrew Kohut, director of the Pew Research Center for the People and the Press, told the paper the movie does not have to change a lot of minds to influence the election.

"The important role (movies like this) play is that they are energizers for political points of view," Kohut said.