I understand the presenters WERE threatened that their mikes would be cut off if they made political statements. I assume that's why most of the political remarks were subtle, polite, and humorous.

However, Michael Moore won the Oscar for a highly political film; it would have been ridiculously hypocritical to try to prevent him from making a political statement. He took full advantage of the license that was given to him. Good for him.

I did hear a lot of boos. Did you also notice the apparently unanimous* standing ovation he got when his name was announced--before his speech? I didn't notice that for any other recipient. They must have known (approximately) what he was going to say. His acceptance speech was nearly identical to the speech he gave at the Independent Spirit Awards, which was broadcast on Bravo on Sunday afternoon. Only there, there was no booing, and he was given more time to speak without having to shout over the music.

*I called the ovation only apparently unanimous because the cameras focused, as usual, on the movie stars who sat in the front few rows. I assume there were people behind them who didn't stand. I assume that's where the studio executives sat, the people with less recognizable faces. I assume that's where the boos came from. I assume those areas were miked for broadcast, but not shown, and that's why the boos sounded louder to me than to Michael Moore.

I haven't seen any statistics, but I'd bet the studio executives are more conservative than the actors. Actors, rich as they may be, for the most part remember what it's like to be poor. Money hasn't corrupted them.