Transparency in Government
"Transparency and the rule of law will be the
touchstones of this presidency," Obama said. "Our commitment to
openness means more than simply informing the American people about how
decisions are made. It means recognizing that government does not have
all the answers and that public officials need to draw on what citizens
know."
On the 21st of January President Obama signed two executive orders and three presidential memorandums into effect. One of these related to transparency in government. He went on to say, ""For a long time now, there has been too much
secrecy in this city. The old rules said that if there was a defensible
argument for not disclosing something to the American people, then it
should not be disclosed. That era is now over. Starting today, every
agency and department should know that this administration stands on
the side not of those who seek to withhold information, but those who
seek to make it known."
In his official memorandum, Obama states, "My Administration is committed to creating an unprecedented level of
openness in Government. We will work together to ensure the public
trust and establish a system of transparency, public participation, and
collaboration. Openness will strengthen our democracy and promote
efficiency and effectiveness in Government."
In spite of all his talk, there has never been transparency in the Obama campaign nor does it look like there will be any in his administration. Yes, he did run a very tech savvy campaign with an active on-line presence. But tis presence seemed to be devoted to content and message control, not in the spirit of openness. Even his YouTube account is strictly a propaganda outlet, there is virtually nothing there that is not scripted.
The latest? Something as simple and innocuous as transcripts. Transcripts of President Obamas talks or even a transcript of Press Secretary Robert Gibbs first appearance before the press corps. Four days later and there is nothing available from an administration that boasts of being high tech and computer literate.
The transcripts have been published since 24 Jan 2001, although President Clinton had also provided transcripts as early as 1999.
This is not a good start for the administration that has made an issue of transparency in government. As related in my story, "President Obamas first week; Open Government and bipartisanship" on the 24th January, this seems to be an on going issue with President Obama.
Photographers were excluded from the Oval Office. and he refuses to answer some reporters questions if he doesn't like the questions. These incidents taken with his episode of "Let me just eat my waffle" back on the campaign trail in April 08 just add up to an arrogant politician.
We, as a nation, will have severe problems with this attitude in the future. When we factor in the love affair the media hold for Obama, the various leg tingles, and political cartoonists like Oliphant (*1) saying they can find nothing about Obama to characterize, we could be in real trouble.
This issue with the transcripts is just another red flag that we have a president that does not work and play well with others. He wants transparency in the government, until it comes to HIS office. Then it is no ones business. We should just trust him and let him get on with his important duties.
(*1) "I had all my villains in place for eight years and they've been taken away," lamented Pulitzer Prize winner Pat Oliphant, one of the most widely syndicated cartoonists. "I don't know that I've ever had this experience before, of a president I maybe like. This is an antagonistic art. We're supposed to concentrate on finding things wrong. There's no point in drawing a cartoon that's favorable."
Amid a worsening recession, there is the question of what appetite exists for ridiculing a chief executive seen as earnestly trying to guide the country toward recovery. Racial sensitivities also are an issue, as reflected in last summer's uproar over the New Yorker cover of the Democratic candidate giving his wife — depicted as a gun-toting, Angela Davis look-alike — a fist jab in the Oval Office.
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