Moore draws crowds to get up close and personal

THEY started queuing to hear Michael Moore five hours before the film director spoke in a packed ballroom on Tuesday. Hundreds of people could not get in.

Moore will not be addressing the Democratic National Convention, but for thousands of liberal activists, the director of Fahrenheit 9/11 is by far the biggest star in Boston.

"It’s a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to get up close and personal," said Jeff Glowik, a recent high school graduate who will vote for the first time in this year’s presidential election.

Wearing his trademark baseball cap, Moore did not disappoint his audience. He delivered a blistering attack on George Bush and warned that the president would fight tooth and nail to hold on to power.

"They are better fighters than we are," Moore said of Republicans. "They are up at six in the morning trying to figure out which minority they are going to screw today. Our side, we never see six in the morning, unless we’ve been up all night."

Moore, whose film has earned more than £55 million, making it the most successful documentary ever, was enjoying Boston so much he cancelled plans to attend the film’s screening in Mr Bush’s Texas home town, Crawford, last night.