The Money Quote of Obama's First Day: "Openness Prevails"

[babylonsister]

http://blogs.cqpolitics.com/davidcorn/2009/01/the-money-quote-of-obamas-firs.html

The Money Quote of Obama's First Day: "Openness Prevails"

By David Corn | January 21, 2009 10:25 PM


Day One was a pretty good day.

First off, President Barack Obama kept the nation safe from terrorist attack. And he also started un-Bushing the nation. He did the latter by issuing a series of executive orders and memos. One mandated that the military commissions under way at Guantanamo Bay be halted for 120 days. Another reshaped government policy so that it will be harder for ex-President George W. Bush (and other former residents of 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue) to block the release of their administration's records.

A third dealt with an issue near and dear to my heart: the Freedom of Information Act. I've been using this good-government law for years to pry information out of the federal government, and over the past two decades it has become emasculated. Some agencies have taken up to almost ten years to respond to FOIA requests I've submitted. (Foggy Bottom, I'm talking about you!) That can make FOIA useless--and damn irritating--for journalists and authors. As a symbol of open government, FOIA has become a tattered, worn-out flag.

Today, Obama tried to restore some of its lost luster. In a memo he sent to the heads of federal agencies and executive departments, he declared:

A democracy requires accountability, and accountability requires transparency. As Justice Louis Brandeis wrote, "sunlight is said to be the best of disinfectants." In our democracy, the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), which encourages accountability through transparency, is the most prominent expression of a profound national commitment to ensuring an open Government. At the heart of that commitment is the idea that accountability is in the interest of the Government and the citizenry alike.

The Freedom of Information Act should be administered with a clear presumption: In the face of doubt, openness prevails. 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. Nondisclosure should never be based on an effort to protect the personal interests of Government officials at the expense of those they are supposed to serve.

In the face of doubt, openness prevails. That is not a sentence that was ever uttered by Dick Cheney. And it represents a fundamental shift in the US government: Obama is embracing transparency and accountability. And while FOIA may seem a boutique issue to some, it represents a basic attitude adjustment. If the government truly is for we the people, then secrecy ought to be minimized, not maximized, and the head of the government should make available all information that s/he can without compromising national security or causing undue harm. Arrogant leaders abuse secrecy, believing they know best. With this order, Obama is sending the message that he has a different--and more democratic--view of the relationship between those who govern and those who are governed.

Most Americans will never file a FOIA request. But Obama's policy regarding them is a sign that there will be real change in Washington.

[kenny blankenship]

1. K&R for transparency and accountability. Exec Privilege needs a good tear down and pruning

These people are OUR employees. We have a right to know what they've been up to.
The first thing Bushler did when he took over--and that was a take over--was to lock up Reagan's papers and his Pa's papers.

Hopefully all that mess is about to get sunlight poured on it. And after what this country has been through the last 8 yrs it's time to make sure nobody can make the govt their secret clubhouse again.

Open the vaults, turn out the dungeons, dig up the graves.

[blm]

2. Almost every day here at DU some Dems defend secrecy and privilege with absolutely no thought

about defending their own right to an open government that is accountable to them, the people.

Secrecy and privilege GAVE US Bush2. Secrecy and privilege gave us this financial meltdown. Secrecy and privilege was protected by some powerful Dems over the last 20 years, and THAT is what has to end.

[Hissyspit]

3. There was a time when they would have been laughed off this site pretty quickly. nt

[blm]

4. Yep - or would have agreed secrecy is a bad thing for democracy till they realized

some of the caretakers of BushInc's secrecy and privilege turned out to be some of the best known people in our party.