Katrina divides US

I watched with horror the pain and suffering of those trapped by the floods of Katrina. Dependent on the reporting of the TV news teams who flooded into the storm waters it seemed detached from any normal reality. The TV concerts were remote and distant. The pain and suffering filtered by the quick edits of the news footage.

The blame for the mess those first few days is the way we live as a country. We are a country of two worlds, urban and the rest. The rest don't go to the cities except to see the "sites", the safe zones. Fear is the result that lingers with the old refrain of race and poverty.

Will "W" bridge that gulf in our national culture or will he demand that those who lost the most be suburbanites? Will the big money force those displaced to find new enclaves to hide their poverty and will new workers be brought in to replace those forced out?

W sounded like a missionary bringing all the hope for a new life. Will he be able to listen to the voices not heard on TV?