In the gross tastelessness of such coverage, all NPR achieved was to emphasise once again how far to the Left it is in the American news media, consistently allowing editorial bias to impinge on its supposedly objective reportage.

By graceful contrast, President Obama himself was generous in his tribute to Lady Thatcher, which read: "The world has lost one of the great champions of freedom and liberty, and America has lost a true friend. As a grocer's daughter who rose to become Britain's first female prime minister, she stands as an example to our daughters that there is no glass ceiling that can't be shattered. As prime minister, she helped restore the confidence and pride that has always been the hallmark of Britain at its best. And as an unapologetic supporter of our transatlantic alliance, she knew that with strength and resolve we could win the Cold War and extend freedom's promise." He even went on to praise the arch-enemy of his own youth, adding: "Here in America, many of us will never forget her standing shoulder to shoulder with President Reagan, reminding the world that we are not simply carried along by the currents of history — we can shape them with moral conviction, unyielding courage and iron will." This was fine praise, and it was echoed right across the American political spectrum outside NPR.

Yet of course it is on the Right in America that Margaret Thatcher is most admired, indeed revered. If you want to see a splendid, larger-than-lifesize statue of her, go to the conservative-minded Hillsdale College in Michigan rather than to any British campus. The Heritage Foundation, America's foremost conservative think-tank, which has a Margaret Thatcher Center for Freedom (the only such organisation in the world to be named after her), put out a statement saying: "She was a leader who changed the course of history. In fact, the Thatcher revolution really laid the foundations for the Reagan revolution in the United States. She was a hugely successful politician because she was always a conviction politician. She always stood by conservative principles."

It is said that prophets are without honour in their own lands, and from the British headlines — "Maggie Dead in Bed at Ritz" (Sun), "The Woman who Divided a Nation" (Mirror), "She became harder than hard" (Guardian) — it might be true. (The Sun headline was particularly disgusting considering what she did for that newspaper during the Wapping struggle.) 

Yet in her adoptive land of America, the place that she famously said brought "the solutions" to Europe and the world, Margaret Thatcher was fully appreciated, admired — and even loved.