Ivy Matsepe-Casaburri, the authoritarian Minister of Communications, feels foreign leaders like George Dubya have “carte blanche access to our living rooms to propagate their propaganda”. So runs a recent quote in the Sunday press, at least.

The minister feels that foisting this fare upon us is a failing of editors – as if the US`s spectacular global policy and panoply of Bushisms are their fault. She feels it should be replaced by material more relevant to South Africa, such as our own president`s views – which editors feature not nearly regularly (or positively) enough. And she feels she`s perfectly cut out for the job of policeman keeping editors in line.

Why our government`s “propaganda” should be more wholesome – or, on global matters, more relevant – than the “propaganda” of the Bush administration is left unexplained. Might quiet diplomacy induce Iraq`s tyrant to stop oppressing his people and threatening his neighbours? Might Bush be persuaded there is no scientific link between mustard gas and dead Kurds?