Posted by
Billy on Monday, December 07, 2009 10:23:16 AM
It's hardly the image of transparency the Obama administration wants to project: A workshop on government openness is closed to the public.
The event Monday for federal employees is a fitting symbol of President Barack Obama's uneven record so far on the Freedom of Information Act, a big part of keeping his campaign promise to make his administration the most transparent ever. As Obama's first year in office ends, the government's actions when the public and press seek information are not yet matching up with the president's words.
"The Freedom of Information Act should be administered with a clear presumption: In the face of doubt, openness prevails," Obama told government offices on his first full day as president. "The government should not keep information confidential merely because public officials might be embarrassed by disclosure, because errors and failures might be revealed, or because of speculative or abstract fears.
(Yes this is going to be an open administration! Not! Obama goes after Fox news and then a meeting yesterday on health was not open to the GOP but also not open to the public. It looks like President Obama is afraid people will see what his White House is doing to this great nation. Read more on this issue Obama's closed-door open-government meeting.)
