Illiterate, but not stupid. Mark Weisbrot calls for reform of the co-opted American press.

Many journalists I have talked to blame the American people for allowing themselves to be fooled, some even calling Americans "stupid." As far as they are concerned, the information was all there, especially in the print media and on the Internet -- so it's your own fault if you were misinformed or deceived.

This is a cop-out. Americans may have a lower literacy level than other high-income countries, but they are not any more stupid than anyone else. The people of Europe -- including the British and Spanish whose governments joined the "coalition of the willing" -- overwhelmingly opposed the war because the media in those countries, while presenting Bush and Blair's statements, also gave the other side of the story.

The broadcast media is most important, because that is the main source of information for the "swing voters" and Americans whose views are not determined by party affiliation. This media will have to be reformed. Journalists must begin to treat government lying as any other form of malfeasance such as bribery or stealing: it is something to be exposed to the public as news, not glossed over and reinforced with endless repetition.

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