I’m watching Brian Williams on NBC reporting on Katrina and its aftermath in New Orleans. Having abandoned network news years ago, I didn’t realize how remarkable Williams’s reporting was. I have some newfound respect for him. Powerful stuff. And another reminder of the ignorance and/or indifference of George W. Bush. “Brownie, you’re doin’ a helluva job!” Bush could be right about democratizing the Middle East, cutting taxes on the wealthy, and restricting stem cell research…I don’t think he is, but let’s just suppose he is…when he spoke about Katrina a year ago, you could see into his heart and how well he understood what had gone on in New Orleans. I am completely convinced he could neither comprehend nor nor feel empathy regarding the devastation. It is sickening that he is our President, and that so many, to this day, can defend his bullshit.
“When we put our minds to it, we can cover a story unlike any other medium. We still have a vital civic role. We’ve got to remember, we report to the folks in our audience. We serve them. We have our role as watchdogs, keeping government officials’ feet to the fire. It’s undiminished; it has never changed. People say we lost our voice because of what may have been less than aggressive coverage of the runup to the war. I say we’ve always had it. This just made us first responders. We beat the first responders. We were witnesses. We were witnesses to a colossal disaster and a botched response. And that’s what happened.”
He’s right, they did do a great job with the Katrina coverage. But he goes a little too easy on his fellow journalists regarding the free pass they gave Dubya since 9/11.