Obama's Flint visit boosted morale – but it doesn't make the water safe to drink

President railed against 'corrosive attitude' of hands-off government - but those unable or unwilling to drink their own water need pragmatism, not politics

Four months after he declared a state of emergency in Flint over its toxic water crisis, Barack Obama's first visit to the Michigan city was as much about repudiating the philosophy of shrunken, hands-off government as it was about the lead-laced liquid that residents still have to drink and bathe in.

The president's address to a restive crowd he called "feisty" included an obligatory sip of Flint water. "This isn't a stunt," Obama insisted, while stressing that people could drink the water, if it is properly filtered.