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There was almost complete consensus that the people of Cairo were justified in their grievances against the Mubarak regime. Here is just a sampling of what is wrong with life in Egypt: "Corruption, unemployment and poverty"--ABC's Marquardt…a "government reputation for corruption and repression"--ITN's Ray for NBC…"corruption, unemployment and police abuse"--CBS' Palmer. "People are already angry in Egypt," according to NBC's Engel, "half live in poverty." NBC's Andrea Mitchell reminded us that Mubarak committed "widespread fraud" in last year's elections. ABC's John Donvan painted this pretty picture of life under Mubarak: "He has led a people whose apparent destiny remains unchanged--to live on $2 a day, to live where the police have power to torture, to watch a tiny elite amass extreme wealth."
As for the political demands of the opposition, CBS' Palmer noted that while "every religious and political affiliation" was represented in the Tahrir Square protests, they had nonetheless managed to agree on a set of core demands: Mubarak must go into exile immediately; a transitional coalition government would be formed; a new constitution would be drawn up; parliamentary elections would be open to all parties. A potential transitional leader is Nobel Peace laureate el-Baradei, who told NBC anchor Williams that he would be "perfectly happy" to play the role of "agent of change." ABC's Amanpour called him "more elder statesman than grassroots leader."
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