The American Spectator

Washington Prowler

p> BIG BELLY UP br> Talk about bad timing. No sooner does the Kerry campaign tout the fact that two of their biggest corporate backers are Miramax executives Bob and Harvey Weinstein than rumors are floated that the pair intends to lay off as much as 20 percent of the production company's staff for cost-saving purposes. /p>

The Kerry camp played up the Weinsteins' presence on a list of 200 corporate executives supporting the candidate on Wednesday, just hours before Kerry held an economic summit in Davenport, Iowa.

"We had no idea they were laying that many people off," says a Kerry campaign source. "We assumed that with the success of Michael Moore's film, money wouldn't be an issue for them. It's embarrassing, but let's face it. No one is going to complain about a few Hollywood types losing their jobs."

Miramax and the distributors of Moore's fictional account of the September 11 terrorist attacks and their aftermath have pulled in more than $100 million from the film. They have already announced plans to distribute DVDs of the movie nationally before the November elections in the hope of swaying more votes to Kerry.

p> ALL YOU CAN EAT br> Apparently John Edwards isn't pulling in the crowds in the South the Kerry campaign expected. The last couple of days, Edwards has been rolling through Arkansas and Tennessee to rallies and fundraisers. /p>

topics:
Foreign Policy, Television, Hollywood, Iraq