"The president's indifference was so apparent, and so appalling, that it roused the American press from its patriotic torpor," said Annette Levy-Willard in Liberation.
She goes on to report that American television news, normally so conformist and excessively respectful of power, finally dared to question the administration's lies. Networks used split screens to reveal the truth: On one side, an administration official saying everything was fine, on the other, images of old people and the poor clinging to rooftops, dying of thirst.
Rather than serving corporate goals, American television performed a public service. It lived up to the mission of the press to defend the poor and criticize the political class. If such zeal lasts after the flood waters ebb, Americans could have a long overdue political awakening.
