May 12, 2009
Transparency and openness in government, Chicago style
Looks like hope for transparency and openness in government are fading, fast:
An initiative President Barack Obama launched to give the public more access to the inner workings of government is under fire for cutting the public out of the process.
With a deadline looming next week to send a set of formal recommendations to Obama, the effort to craft an “open government directive” has also suffered from a lack of attention from top White House decision makers and the delay of a key appointment, advocates and an official involved said.
“It seems pretty absurd that they’re supposed to be working on recommendations for transparency, participation and collaboration, yet they’re not using any of those three things as tools,” said Gary Bass of OMB Watch, a nonprofit group that advocates more open government. “There’s something wrong about talking about public access — without the public.”
I love news reports like this because, reading whoever is quoted, it always sounds like people are actually shocked. They are shocked to discover that a Chicago politician isn’t keeping campaign promises of transparency and openness in government? Are people that naive?
The problem for Obama is that he was placed on a pedestal. When he falls, he’ll fall that much harder. Not that I care. A little piece of me dies inside every time I realize how many people believed this man’s lies. Luckily, 21 MAY is only a little over a week away. Let the disillusionment commence!
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[...] It appears some folks are just shocked, shocked, that Obama lied about isn’t following through on his campaign promise of “transparency and openness,” causing HotMES to wonder … “Are people that naive?” [...]
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