Obama is the same as it ever was.

[Claydon]

As a senator, Barack Obama denounced the Bush administration for holding "secret energy meetings" with oil executives at the White House. But last week public-interest groups were dismayed when his own administration rejected a Freedom of Information Act request for Secret Service logs showing the identities of coal executives who had visited the White House to discuss Obama's "clean coal" policies. One reason: the disclosure of such records might impinge on privileged "presidential communications." The refusal, approved by White House counsel Greg Craig's office, is the latest in a series of cases in which Obama officials have opted against public disclosure. Since Obama pledged on his first day in office to usher in a "new era" of openness, "nothing has changed," says David -Sobel, a lawyer who litigates FOIA cases. "For a president who said he was going to bring unprecedented transparency to government, you would certainly expect more than the recycling of old Bush secrecy policies."

The hard line appears to be no accident. After Obama's much-publicized Jan. 21 "transparency" memo, administration lawyers crafted a key directive implementing the new policy that contained a major loophole, according to FOIA experts. The directive, signed by Attorney General Eric Holder, instructed federal agencies to adopt a "presumption" of disclosure for FOIA requests. This reversal of Bush policy was intended to restore a standard set by President Clinton's attorney general, Janet Reno. But in a little-noticed passage, the Holder memo also said the new standard applies "if practicable" for cases involving "pending litigation." Dan Metcalfe, the former longtime chief of FOIA policy at Justice, says the passage and other "lawyerly hedges" means the Holder memo is now "astonishingly weaker" than the Reno policy. (The visitor-log request falls in this category because of a pending Bush-era lawsuit for such records.)

Administration officials say the Holder memo was drafted by senior Justice lawyers in consultation with Craig's office. The separate standard for "pending" lawsuits was inserted because of the "burden" it would impose on officials to go "backward" and reprocess hundreds of old cases, says Melanie Ann Pustay, who now heads the FOIA office. White House spokesman Ben LaBolt says Obama "has backed up his promise" with actions including the broadcast of White House meetings on the Web. (Others cite the release of the so-called torture memos.) As for the visitor logs, LaBolt says the policy is now "under review."

http://www.newsweek.com/id/202875

Smells like 2001 to me.

[Debo]

Obama is finding out the being the President is a tad bit more complex than campaigning for President.

[heelsguy]

he is also learning that in order to get some things accomplished, it is often counter-productive to have every single move seen, analyzed, disected, before you even get to 1st base.

[tockit]

Obama is finding out the being the President is a tad bit more complex than campaigning for President.
Talk of alternative energy, and getting off of fossil fuels all sounds good rolling off the tongue, and would be wonderful, but the fact is, there is nothing out there right now to get us off of fossil fuels, entirely.

And, if an alternative to fossil fuels were discovered tomorrow, it would likely take decades to switch our country over. Automobiles, trucks, aircraft, the fuel infrastructure, etc, etc.

The carbon cap & trade tax this administrative keeps talking about, is insane. Especially in the middle of one of the worst recessions since the Great Depression.

[Das Kahlua]

I have no problem with this, I really don't. A President has way too many things to worry about all the time to constantly get into ideological argument with any group who is pissed off today; he has to govern the country, not explain himself each and every time he has a meeting.

I would love for Obama to stand up and admit that he never realized that being President is as difficult as it is, and that maybe he should have cut Bush some slack, especially since he has adopted many of Bush's policies that he bashed at the time, but I know that's just a pipe-dream.

[mdaddyrabbit]

I know the responsibility of being president is tough but he knew when he was running for office how tough this can be at times. He has a plan of sorts to do the job before him but it don't always work. How many things go as we plan them, very few. The issue is will he have a good enough backup plan to keep the economy and government from sinking. He is not the saviour that some think he is. There has been so much money used to bail out businesses and stimulate the economy that my childrens grandchildren will never get it payed back. The US owes china so much money now that if they requested all loans payed in full, china would own this country. I don't really care how many private meetings he has, I care what we will look like at the end of his term. I think we as a nation are going to be in trouble.

[Mustard]

I can't say I'm very pleased about this. I am one who wanted more transparency from the White House. With regards to this matter, I suppose I can see where the White House's argument is coming from, and I can respect that, but that doesn't mean I have to like it.

Food for thought though: I thought the right-wing crowd (as I read this) would be more ok with this than the left, considering this apparently is more or less the same idea of privacy Bush used during his administration. However, as I began to realize that relatively nothing Obama or the White House does will ever be more than just 'ok' with the right-wing crowd (for the most part) I recalled the cliché that "you can't please all of the people, all of the time", and because even if Obama had a more transparent White House than the one he said he was going to have, not everybody would be pleased.

With that in mind, it would have made more sense for Obama to keep to is guns, and opened up the White House; make it more transparent, knowing that the people who didn't vote for him would bitch and moan, all the while keeping the ones who voted for him happy. However, maybe this is all just a shell game, and Obama knows that he can still piss off his base a little bit while maybe bringing in some more moderates, because hey, who else are they going to vote for in 2012... Sarah Palin? I don't think so.

[Limp]

Ummm... maybe the righties are pissed because one of the things he said he was going to do to get votes isn't happening.

WE NOW KNOW NOT TO TRUST POLITICIANS! GET THE WORD OUT! THEY ALL LIE!

[Morfin]

This is troubling. Obama got great press from his "transparency" declaration. The media have got to hold his feet to the fire on this to force him to take a more public stance. How the White House reacts to a single FOIA request will get little press, but if there is mort publicity, he will be forced to try to publicly explain his way out of it -- and look like he is being a weasel -- or back down and grant the disclosure request.

However, to the extent that it appears to be a partisan thing -- as mentioned before, if this happened last year, the Repubs would have backed Bush doing this -- people will not pay attention. It needs to be the media and non-partisan groups.

[Le Goat]

A Nigge r that doesn't keep his word?


that's the worst kinda politician

[Hanover Fist]

I think the main difference between Democrats and Republicans as far as Obama goes is that Republicans knew he was either lying or just being disingenuous from the beginning and accepted that as the way it was going to be while Democrats that voted for him believed and continue to believe all the happy horseshit he was spewing. It's at least comforting to see his latest Rasmussen poll numbers showing more people currently strongly disapprove of him than strongly approve of him, it seems people are starting to finally realize how awful his policies are.

http://www.rasmussenreports.com/public_content/politics/obama_administration/daily_presidential_tracking_poll

[Le Goat]

At least the 14-30yo douches still love him, right? I mean, that's his main reason for saturating the Media Outlet's... or am I just seeing shit again?

He's got the same love for himself that Nixon did.

[Limp]

I saw someone at the park yesterday having a picnic consisting of KFC and a giant watermelon (I shit you not, that was the only two things on the table) wearing a Obama t-shirt... care to guess what color his skin was?

[Le Goat]

Yellow

[Limp]

rong!

[Morfin]

Now I has this zong in my brains:

Kw54-rCIrPs

[Das Kahlua]

Food for thought though: I thought the right-wing crowd (as I read this) would be more ok with this than the left, considering this apparently is more or less the same idea of privacy Bush used during his administration. However, as I began to realize that relatively nothing Obama or the White House does will ever be more than just 'ok' with the right-wing crowd (for the most part) I recalled the cliché that "you can't please all of the people, all of the time", and because even if Obama had a more transparent White House than the one he said he was going to have, not everybody would be pleased.

Personally, I don't necessarily want any President keeping secrets from the American people, but I also realize a great many issues either must be kept secret for security reasons, or that there are issues that most people in society simply wouldn't understand. Not that the latter should be kept secret, but that he shouldn't waste his time debating them when most people wouldn't understand either position.

My only real issue with Obama over this is the hypocrisy of him and his party; he and his fellow Democrats spent years bashing Bush for these very same policies, and then only a short 6 months into office, he's adopted many of the same ones for himself. Where are the left-wingers or the news outlets to jump up and down and scream about this?

[Claydon]

I agree with Kahlua, I do not have an issue with him keeping secrets and invoking executive powers etc, what bothers me is how he laid on a slick sheen of horseshit that the left and the center left and center right voting blocks ate with great glee. Bush/Cheney were on tshirts with the swastika, while obama is on a tshirt with flowers and pinwheels and yet both groups are doing the same thing with regards to 'transparency'.

[Das Kahlua]

I agree with Kahlua, I do not have an issue with him keeping secrets and invoking executive powers etc, what bothers me is how he laid on a slick sheen of horseshit that the left and the center left and center right voting blocks ate with great glee. Bush/Cheney were on tshirts with the swastika, while obama is on a tshirt with flowers and pinwheels and yet both groups are doing the same thing with regards to 'transparency'.

How about when Obama promised during the campaign to put bills online for people to view well before being voted on, so no slick stuff was done with their money, and then Congress turns around and rams through TARP 1 & 2 without even reading them?

Politicians are exactly the same, right or left, and if the public gives them too much power they will abuse it. This should hardly be news to anyone.

[Claydon]

How about when Obama promised during the campaign to put bills online for people to view well before being voted on, so no slick stuff was done with their money, and then Congress turns around and rams through TARP 1 & 2 without even reading them?

Politicians are exactly the same, right or left, and if the public gives them too much power they will abuse it. This should hardly be news to anyone.

but ... but.... he is the first black president...EVAH!!!

[tockit]

but ... but.... he is the first black president...EVAH!!!
I thought they said Bill Clinton was the first black president???

[}{arlequin]

i do agree ab withholding info from pending litigation. there are cases where even the jury has to be sequestered to not contaminate the information and decision making. in light of this, there is no way that other info ab such a case should be released simply b/c someone asked for it. that's silly