Transpareny: Fact or Fiction

We thought this memo more than interesting. It spells out Obama's initial intentions for his administration of the office of President of the United States.

Here is a directive to the Executive Branch, published January 21, 2009 (the day after his inauguration:

Memorandum for the Heads of Executive Departments and Agencies

SUBJECT: Transparency and Open Government

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.

Government should be transparent. Transparency promotes accountability and provides information for citizens about what their Government is doing. Information maintained by the Federal Government is a national asset. My Administration will take appropriate action, consistent with law and policy, to disclose information rapidly in forms that the public can readily find and use. Executive departments and agencies should harness new technologies to put information about their operations and decisions online and readily available to the public. Executive departments and agencies should also solicit public feedback to identify information of greatest use to the public. (end of quote)

Editor's notes: we believe that this was Obama's true intention on Day One. Understand that being "the most transparent" and being "fully transparent" are two very different things. Fast forward to Day 614, some 20 months later.

1. He not only refused to post the healthcare bill on the internet as promised on several occasions, the bill that is now law could not have been posted as promised because it was not written in its final stage until 3 days before the final vote. Understand that the healthcare reform bill was not something that was created in committee, thought out in terms of practicalities and finance, and then put up for vote, not at all. And the American people know this. Billions of dollars and thousands of pages were added as bribes, to get unwilling Senators and Representatives to pass the bill through and into law. One of its major signers, a congressman from Oregon, within the past week has decided to oppose the bill he had originally approved. Transparency? Heck, the people who wrote the thing don't even know what's in the bill. In fact, it was Pelosi who said, "We have to pass the bill so that we can know what is in the bill."

2. On Christmas eve, 2009, Obama was given authority to use Fannie and Freddie funding without the need to seek Congressional approval or the demand to be accountable to Congress. As a result, Midknight Review believes that ACORN's "bankruptcy" problems were resolved (has anyone heard ACORN whine about the need for money, lately? ) and the funding for the GM "early 6.6 billion dollar payback" was supplied. Understand that GM had not made a profit of any kind for three years. In fact, GM lost 4.4 billion in the last quarter of 2009 and then, suddenly, it came up with 6.6 billion to pay back their "loan" FIVE YEARS EARLY. This is not only not true, it is a criminal event.

3. The FinReg regulatory reform bill, governing Wall Street, has a provision in it that allows the Security and Exchange Commission to legally resist "freedom of information" demands by those seeking information on its dealings with and against Wall Street. Transparency? Hardly.

4. A final consideration is Obama's use of the media. It is a part of his strategy to co-op the media's service, making it a part of his own purposes and agenda. He is lest available president in modern day history.

The sad truth is that we could go on and on. Indeed, Obama was sincere in his version of "transparency." It is just that his version and ours are two different concepts and they are worlds apart.