.bmp)
.bmp)
Transparency was a watchword of President Obama's campaign.But 50 days into his administration, the new president is still struggling to live up to his pledge to hold himself to what he called "a new standard of openness."Already, the administration has violated a campaign promise to post bills ready for Obama's signature online for five full days before they become law.In three cases, Obama signed legislation well within that window-with a fair-pay law, an expansion of health insurance for children and the $787 billion economic stimulus package. Melanie Sloan, director of Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, said it's too early to give Obama a clear grade on transparency."Have they done it right on every occasion? Clearly, no," she said. "They seem to be making an effort."The White House argues it's opened up serious policy discussions to the public, holding recent summits on fiscal responsibility and health care reform. The White House even posted streaming video on its Web site and created a separate site to track stimulus spending.But there have been other transparency misfires.After saying that lobbyists would be mostly barred from working in the Obama White House, the administration hadn't disclosed how many lobbyists made their way into top posts until now. The administration identified three officials Tuesday night who received waivers for their lobbying work. They are Deputy Defense Secretary William Lynn; Jocelyn Frye, senior official for first lady Michelle Obama, and Cecilia Munoz, director of governmental affairs....FOX News' Major Garrett contributed to this report.
To read more go to:
http://www.foxnews.com/politics/first100days/2009/03/10/obama-administration-struggling-live-transparency-pledges/
As in the days of Noah...
