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Yes, I'm not surprised. As has been said many times before, Obama has obviously shown his dedication to sunshine and transparency was a falsehood.
Morning Edition, July 1, 2009 · It was a recurring theme of Barack Obama's presidential campaign — a call for openness: "Transparency and accountability, getting the American people involved, that's how we're gonna bring about change," candidate Obama said.
And the theme continued on Obama's first day as president: "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."
But for advocates of open government, the new era of openness has yet to dawn.
"Once all the pretty speeches were over in the first couple of days, the record now isn't quite so great," said Melanie Sloan, executive director of the nonpartisan watchdog group Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington.
Sloan is concerned about several early decisions regarding the release of do ents and other information by the Obama White House. Her organization is suing for the release of Secret Service logs that would reveal which representatives from the coal industry visited the White House as the administration was preparing clean air policy.
It is similar to a lawsuit the Bush administration fought a few years back. This year, Sloan's organization asked for records again, citing the Freedom of Information Act.
"Not only did the administration refuse to provide those records, we have sued them, and ... they are making the same argument that the Bush administration did, that these are presidential records, even though this argument has already lost in court," Sloan said.
White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs was recently asked about the White House visitor logs during his daily briefing.
"I think there are obviously occasions in which the president is going to meet privately with advisers on topics that are of great national importance," Gibbs answered.
He added that the policy regarding visitor logs is currently under review. That is just one of several issues on which the Obama administration has frustrated open government advocates. Some others include a decision not to release more photos do enting the abuse of prisoners in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Former Bush administration press secretary Ari Fleischer has been watching the debate closely, and with some sense of vindication.
"As a candidate, you can make the easy call and say 'I'll do it,' " Fleischer said. "As a president, it's a good thing that he's thinking twice on some of these things."
A spokesman for Obama says the administration has made major changes in terms of providing more transparency by ordering that Freedom of Information Act requests be regarded with a presumption of disclosure. The administration also has set up a number of Web sites allowing the public to track government programs, funding for them and the funds they pay out.
"What the administration is beginning to deliver is an openness when it comes to a certain level of White House deliberations and with respect to government data," said Ellen Miller of the Sunlight Foundation, an open government advocacy group. "Time will tell how this all plays out, but even in the first six months of the administration, we're seeing far more openness than we have seen in modern history."
The administration is learning that the campaign established a certain level of expectation that has not been met, and that insisting on having the most open administration ever is a far cry from achieving it.
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/s...ryId=106131932
Yes, I'm not surprised. As has been said many times before, Obama has obviously shown his dedication to sunshine and transparency was a falsehood.
More continuity. What a surprise.
We should make a poll on if Obama will use the same schtick in 2012 campaign (since the herd will still probably fall for it) or if Axlerod will come up with new mass genius...
More of the same...
Typical. Demand of the other party what you wish not to do yourself.
he's the president, not the king.
deal with it
We know that. He knows that. Deal with it. Or go back in time and at your guy. Otherwise you're just a typically rightward and utterly presumptive hypocrite.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn...103003735.html
White House unseals its long-sought visitors logs
In a first for any president, Obama in September authorized the release of contents of the usually hush-hush log. Friday's partial release represented the administration's first attempt to satisfy that directive.
The list of 481 records, covering the first six months of the Obama presidency, is far from a comprehensive record of who met with the president and his top staff. Aides said they released records for only those visitors about whom a specific request was made on the Whitehouse.gov Web site since last month.
http://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-r...isitor-records
Some notable names include
Jeremiah White, Michael Moore, Bill Ayers, and George Soros.
Jesus Christ? Can you believe he let Bill Ayers in the White House?????
I'm fairly appalled at this.
Furthermore, where was the liberal press that is always at the White House when this guy showed up? I bet they were just covering up for Obama. If Fox News had been there they probably would have forcibly removed him from the White House.
Good one. That was a hoot.
What? Aren't you upset Bill Ayers was in the White House?
Notable names. Unfortunately for the sub-humans who think of themselves as conservatives, not notable people.
If it was their first name only, people would be proper, but since I used their first and last name - "names" was appropriate.
If you saw something flying over your head that was the point which was being made. Hint: It had nothing to do with your grammar.
But aren't you upset that Bill Ayers was allowed into the White House?
I bet Cheney's visitor logs alone where a list full of evil...
...I wonder if Saddam was on it?
I wonder if Mickey Mouse ever visited the White House. I'd love to see those visitor logs.
Did you know Michael Jordan managed to visit the White House too? I wonder if he was playing in the all male basketball game.
God I miss Cheney..
Mmm mmm mmm
Barack Hussein Obama.
Why should anyone be upset? We all know they are best buds. We would think the records were fake if he didn't appear in them!
If you saw something flying over your head that was the point which was being made.
If Ayers was just some guy who lived down the street, why is it he visited the whitehouse? This means that Obama has relationships with terrorists.
It isn"t that Bill Ayers you ing moron!!! How could you be so stupid, repeatedly?
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