Michael Moore's dollars and sense

We already know who the winners are as a result of the historic presidential election of Barack Obama -- America, the world, sellers of various Shepard Fairey-esque "Hope"-emblazoned t-shirts.

Now the losers are starting to emerge, too -- the stellar ratings of "Saturday Night Live," 24-hour cable news networks, tellers of various "John McCain is so old" jokes, and, potentially, Michael Moore.

The Oscar winning provocateur has reportedly retooled his upcoming documentary to center on the economy and the global financial crisis. It had been intended to be a sequel of sorts to "Fahrenheit 9/11," with its focus on foreign policy.

As THR's Steven Zeitchik reports today, Moore faces a number of obstacles with this project, namely, he won't have W. to kick around anymore, so we're minus the best villain, events are changing so quickly that even a lightning fast turnaround could make the film obsolete, and is there a solution to offer to the situation? Also, will anyone show up to watch a replay of an incredibly painful time?

They did during the Bush reign, to the tune of more than $300 million in worldwide boxoffice for Moore's films. Will the confrontational muckraker continue his own reign in a different political climate?

Don't claim to have the answer, but happy to entertain a discussion, since we've found ourselves ("Sicko" aside) less and less able to separate the outsized personality from the creative product, with our estimation of the latter suffering as a result.