‘What has happened across our nation during the past twelve hours has been the most agonising example of self-destruction we have ever inflicted on ourselves. We have had some hurtful and tumultuous times before. I believe it is the destiny of this nation to test its belief in itself time and time again, no matter how painful those tests may be. In the Civil War, we tested our belief in the sanctity of individual freedom… In the Civil Rights marches of the 1960s, we faced up to the reality of black citizenship…

‘Then there was Watts, and Kent State, and the assassination of President Kennedy and his brother Robert… and Watergate…

‘But last night was not a test… neither of our pride in being American nor our confidence in what we can achieve. Last night was a horrifying exposure of the weaknesses inherent in our whole society. Last night showed that we have set personal wellbeing above national survival. Last night showed that we have become a nation of weak, self-interested, corruptible consumers.

‘It isn’t easy for me to say these words. As your President, I have to take ultimate responsibility for the shape our society is in, and I do. I take responsibility for failing to understand that our recent years of economic recession were warnings of a major shift in our national psychology. Instead of believing in work and its profitable rewards, we now believe in profitable rewards whether we work or not.

‘Well, I’m going to make an appeal right now… an appeal to sanity and an appeal to reason. I’m going to appeal to all of you to carry on your normal everyday lives… to go to work as normal… and to try to restore the best part of the life we lost last night…’

The President was asked if it was true that he had made provisions to hoard food for the administration.

He said, ‘Hoard is an emotive word. Let me just say that there have always been contingency plans to protect the administrative arm of government in the event of a national emergency, and it would not be accurate for me to say that some kind of contingency plan had not been considered in this case.’

‘Yes – but does the administration have its own secret supply of food?’

‘That’s all I’m prepared to say,’ the President answered. ‘It’s a question of national security and I don’t wish to breach national security by shooting my mouth off.’

The Washington Post’s next edition carried the banner: PRESIDENT ADMITS GOV’T FOOD HOARD.