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Jewish World Review December 4, 2012/ 20 Kislev, 5773 Obama's poor efforts at transparency By Dana Milbank http://www.JewishWorldReview.com | “My administration,” President Obama wrote on his first day in office, “is committed to creating an unprecedented level of openness in government.” Those were strong and hopeful words. Four years later, it is becoming more and more clear that they were just words. On Monday afternoon, open-government advocates assembled in a congressional hearing room to ponder what had become of the Obama administration’s lofty vows of transparency. “It’s been a really tough slog,” said Anne Weismann of Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington. “The lack of effective leadership in the White House, in the executive branch, has really made it difficult to have more significant progress.” “They’ve been reluctant to take positions,” said Hudson Hollister of the Data Transparency Coalition, “and translate that to real action.” “In the beginning of 2010, [Obama] said he made a significant mistake by abandoning some of his pledges related to transparency,” said Josh Gerstein of Politico, “and that going forward they would do things differently. Seems to me we are forward and it seems to me we’re not doing things any differently.” It was a more-in-sadness-than-in-anger critique of Obama often heard from the political left, and the moderator, the Sunlight Foundation’s Daniel Schuman, was apologetic. “We’re placing a lot of blame at the administration,” he observed. “Or blame isn’t the right word — maybe responsibility.” No, blame is just fine. The Obama administration’s high level of opacity, though typical of modern presidencies, is troubling precisely because the president was so clear about his determination to do things differently. As recently as early last year, some open-government advocates were still hopeful, presenting Obama with an anti-secrecy award at the White House. But even then, there were signs of trouble: The award presentation wasn’t on his schedule and was closed to reporters. By certain measures, “overall secrecy has actually increased rather than declined,” said Steven Aftergood, who runs the Federation of American Scientists’ Project on Government Secrecy. “Criminalization of unauthorized disclosures of information to the press has risen sharply, becoming a preferred tactic. Efforts to promote public accountability in controversial aspects of counterterrorism policy such as targeted killing have been blocked by threadbare, hardly credible national security secrecy claims.” A Washington Post report from this past summer concluded that “by some measures the government is keeping more secrets than before.” Those making Freedom of Information Act requests in 2011 were less likely than in 2010 to get material from 10 of 15 Cabinet agencies, which were more likely to exploit the law’s exemptions. Also, the National Declassification Center, which Obama established in 2009, had by the summer of 2012 reviewed only 14 percent of the pages it was assigned to review and declassify by the end of 2013. Now the administration is maintaining silence as lawmakers prepare to pass one of the gravest threats to government transparency in years. A bill passed by the Senate intelligence committee would ban anybody but the top officials and public-relations staff at intelligence agencies from speaking to the media. The proposal, intended to crack down on classified leaks, would significantly set back freedom of the press, thwart whistle-blowers and squelch the airing of dissenting views on intelligence issues. This is part of a broader effort to make it a crime for national security officials to talk to reporters. The Obama administration has, to its credit, made progress in a few areas: releasing more of the White House visitor logs, disseminating more information about nuclear weapons, disclosing more about intelligence spending, and declassifying more historical records. But these don’t amount to the “unprecedented level of openness” Obama promised. The few advances that have been made are mostly administrative changes that will end with the Obama administration. “We haven’t seen that many, if any, legislative initiatives from the White House,” Weismann lamented at Monday’s gathering of the open-government advocates. Consider the Digital Accountability and Transparency Act, a bill with bipartisan support that would make it easier to track government spending by requiring agencies to report expenditures in a uniform way online. The legislation is so uncontroversial that it passed the House on a voice vote. But the Obama administration raised objections — and the transparency law has yet to see the light of day. Every weekday JewishWorldReview.com publishes what many in Washington and in the media consider "must reading." Sign up for the daily JWR update. It's free. Just click here. Comment on Dana Milbank's column by clicking here. Previously: • 12/03/12 The urge to purge: Rational Republicans defy purists at their own peril • 11/30/12 The naked 'fiscal' truth: Lawmakers can't hide the lack of progress • 11/28/12 Santorum's new cause: opposing the disabled • 11/20/12 Norquist in defeat • 11/19/12 Susan Rice's tarnished resume • 11/15/12 Let those poor states secede • 11/12/12 Whole lot of blaming going on • 11/08/12 At Romney headquarters, the defeat of the 1 percent • 11/07/12 Why I voted Republican • 11/06/12 Romney's new tune • 11/01/12 The Supreme Court's dog-day afternoon • 10/31/12 A perfect political storm • 10/29/12 Behind the Clinton 'bromance,' a stealth campaign • 10/25/12 A Trumped-up bomb • 10/24/12 Groupthink Live: How conventional wisdom congeals in 2012 • 10/23/12 The sound of worldviews not colliding • 10/22/12 The tea party is helping Dems • 10/18/12 Moderate Mitt wins conservatives' blessings • 10/16/12 Reid's latest salvos are beneath the dignity of his office • 10/08/12 Obama pays price for ducking the questions • 10/05/12 Mitt Romney holds his own -- and then some -- in first debate • 10/03//12 The Zinger candidacy --- all sugary platitudes, no protein • 09/25/12 Obama makes room for 'The View' • 08/17/12 Hateful speech on 'hate' groups: The Family Research Council is no KKK • 08/16/12 Now Dems are employing harsh tactics • 08/14/12 Paul Ryan on soapbox at Iowa State Fair • 08/13/12 Romney's welfare gambit • 08/07/12 Harry Reid's latest broadside • 07/26/12 Romney can't have it both ways on defense spending, tax cuts • 07/19/12 Ron Paul, fed up • 07/17/12 The rotten results of one-party rule • 07/11/12 The missing giants of the Senate • 07/09/12 Representative Gaffe • 07/02/12 The umpire strikes back • 06/25/12 Norquist delivers the GOP's marching orders • 06/19/12 The left, feeling left out • 06/18/12 Skip the falsehoods, Mr. President, and give us a plan • 06/15/12 The Wall Street Senate • 06/13/12 Jeb Bush's heresy • 06/12/12 Pileup at the White House • 06/11/12 Obama's fate could be in Europe's hands • 06/04/12 Welcome to Camp Competitive • 05/31/12 Digging a racial grave • 05/30/12 A new conspiracy theory: Is Romney a unicorn? • 05/29/12 Do Republicans really want to clone one for the Gipper? • 05/24/12 Obama's protectors are under the microscope • 05/22/12 Obama's Old World mess: Allies are coming up short at a key moment • 05/16/12 Where have all the candidates gone? • 05/15/12 Barack Obama, the first female president • 05/14/12 Irrationality wins: Voter cure for Congress's failures will likely backfire • 05/08/12 Obama's marriage mess: His advisers scramble to clean up his 'evolution' • 05/07/12 Taking out Dick Lugar • 05/03/12 Gingrich may have ended campaign, but he will remain out of this world • 05/02/12 Our do-almost-nothing Congress • 05/01/12 President Obama, campaigner in chief • 04/25/12 Romney's immigration Etch a Sketch • 04/23/12 A congressional deal on immigration? Dream on • 04/19/12 Dems battle back against Republican 'war on women' • 04/18/12 Debauchery: An American govermental specialty • 04/17/12 Silent witness • 04/12/12 Rebuffing Obama's gimmicky 'Buffett Rule' • 04/11/12 Santorum's Gettysburg surrender • 04/09/12 The facts vs. Mitt Romney • 04/06/12 Mitt Romney, talking to the press, keeps the press at a distance • 04/05/12 From tracking al-Qaeda to tracking the wayward spouse • 04/04/12 Budget cuts as back-door deregulation • 03/26/12 My pet Mitt • 03/22/12 Mitt Romney's latest gaffe may be etched in history • 03/20/12 Supreme Court conceives of life after death • 03/15/12 Conservative for Obama: The British PM as campaign prop • 03/14/12 In Section 60, a silent search for meaning • 03/13/12 Super Friends, unite • 03/12/12 It's time to believe: Romney's a winner • 03/07/12 Settling in to Washington's ways • 03/06/12 AIPAC beats the drums of war • 03/05/12 Did Republicans forget the women's vote? • 02/29/12 Mitt Romney's acceptance speech, in (mostly) his own words • 02/28/12 Common ground becomes a great divide • 02/27/12 An expert witness for the GOP gender gap • 02/21/12 Where Romney shines • 02/15/12 A Republican death wish? • 02/14/12Obama's budget games • 02/13/12 Are GOPers playing right into Obama's hands? • 02/08/12 Obama pumps the compressor of Joe Hudy's Extreme Marshmallow Cannon • 02/07/12 Abramoff's atonement • 02/01/12 Why we in the media just love Newt • 01/31/12 The end of the road for Newt Gingrich? • 01/25/12 Gingrich is Obama's best surrogate • 01/24/12 Tim Pawlenty, Mitt Romney's attack dog • 01/16/12 Mitt Romney's Al Gore problem • 01/12/12 Kamikaze Gingrich, on the loose in South Carolina • 01/11/12 Journalists' campaign trail secrets revealed • 01/10/12 Mitt Romney's money problem • 01/09/12 Newtonian exceptionalism • 01/05/12 Mitt Romney out of control • 01/04/12 Indecision 2012: In Iowa and the GOP • 01/03/12 Rick Santorum's curious closing argument • 12/28/11 A few cracks in my crystal ball • 12/23/11 A few cracks in my crystal ball • 12/20/11 Strange brews and views? • 12/19/11 Cellphone ban would be a distraction • 12/15/11 Harry Reid, Mitch McConnell and the Malfunction Minuet • 12/14/11 The presidential auction of 2012 • 12/12/11 Newt's tactics comes back to haunt him • 12/06/11 Can an anthem save Occupy non-movement? • 12/05/11 The winner of the GOP campaign: Washington • 11/30/11 Barney the bully: Congressman Frank's other legacy • 11/23/11 Jon Kyl's search-and-destroy mission • 11/21/11 Pay to play, brought to you by Washington • 11/17/11 Big enough to save the supercommittee? • 11/16/11 Why Newt Gingrich won't last • 11/08/11 The 2012 campaign gets seedier • 11/06/11 A Machiavellian model for Obama • 11/03/11 The Herman Cain crack-up • 11/01/11 Cain can --- he will survive • 10/27/11 Stuntmen of the supercommittee • 10/26/11 Democrats on the sidelines • 10/24/11 Rick Perry's birther Parade • 10/24/11 The birthers eat their own • 10/19/11 The GOP's middle man • 10/17/11 The waiting for nothing Congress • 10/12/11 Sparsely occupied D.C.: Why the movement hasn't caught on • 10/10/11 Can Obama strike an alliance with Occupy Wall Street? • 10/06/11 Chris Christie, such a presidential tease • 10/05/11 Obama and his foot soldiers go toe to toe • 09/28/11 Cain could deliver • 09/26/11 Republicans? Mr. Nice Guys? • 09/22/11 Why Ron Paul is winning the GOP primary • 09/21/11 I am a job creator who creates no jobs • 09/20/11 Obama launches a revolution • 09/19/11 Dems for Romney? • 09/14/11 ‘Supercommittee’? More than stupor committee • 09/07/11 Mitt Romney finds his (corporate) voice • 09/01/11 The infallible Dick Cheney • 08/31/11 This liberal says Perry is the ultimate conservative candidate • 08/29/11 Wanted: More bite from Obama the Great Nibbler • 08/10/11 How Rep. Austin Scott betrayed his Tea Party roots • 08/09/11 The most powerful man on Earth? • 08/08/11 The FAA shutdown and the new rules of Washington • 08/04/11 Lt. Col. Allen West fires a round at the Tea Party • 08/03/11 Government on autopilot • 08/02/11 Dems mourn debt deal like death • 07/27/11 Life imitates sport • 07/26/11 Obama and Boehner take on Washington • 07/21/11 Why Americans are angry at Congress • 07/20/11 The new party of Reagan • 07/18/11 Rob Portman, the boring Midwesterner who could bring sanity to the debt debate • 07/13/11 John Boehner's bind • 07/04/11 Stephen Colbert, Karl Rove and the mockery of campaign finance • 07/01/11 President Puts Up His Dukes, As He Ought To • 06/28/11 Rod Blagojevich verdict: All shook up • 06/27/11 Progressives voice their anger at Obama • 06/24/11 ‘Mission accomplished,’ Obama style • 06/22/11 Jon Huntsman's first step toward oblivion • 06/21/11 Scott Walker finds making bumper stickers is easier than creating jobs • 06/20/11 A day of awkwardness with Mitt Romney • 06/06/11 Hubris and humility: Sarah Palin and Robert Gates on tour • 06/02/11 The Weiner roast • 06/01/11 Congress clocks in to clock out • 05/30/11 Hermanator II: No More Mr. Gadfly • 05/24/11 How Obama has empowered Netanyahu • 05/24/11 Pawlenty bends his truth-telling • 05/20/11 Default deniers say it's all a hoax • 05/18/11: Gingrich gives voice to moderation • 05/17/11: Donald Trump and the House of Horrors • 05/16/11: The medical mystery of Mitt Romney • 05/12/11: The body impolitic: Schock photos should tempt lawmakers to cover up • 05/10/11: Muskets in hand, tea party blasts House Republicans • 05/09/11: The GOP debate: America -- and the party -- needs the grown-ups • 05/05/11: Mitch Daniels, an alternative to scary • 05/03/11: Obama's victory lap • 05/02/11: How the journalist prom got out of control • 04/28/11: Obama's birther day: Why did he lower himself by appearing in the briefing room? • 04/27/11: Obama, lost in thought • 04/24/11: Andrew Breitbart and the rifts on the right • 04/22/11: Ten Commandments for 2012 • 04/21/11: Obama likes Facebook. Facebook likes Obama. • 04/18/11: Without Nancy Pelosi, Obama is adrift • 04/15/11: If progressives ran the world • 04/14/11: Faith in political apostasy • 04/13/11: One man's revolution is another's political expediency • 04/11/11: Shutdown theatrics • 04/06/11: Paul Ryan's irresponsible budget • 04/05/11: Robots in Congress? Yes, we replicant! • 04/04/11: Robert Gibbs, Facebook and the White House corporate placement service • 04/01/11: Haley Barbour, the fat cats' candidate • 03/31/11: Republican freshmen in House shut down compromise, and possibly the government • 03/30/11: Coburn and Durbin, the dynamic duo of the debt crisis • 03/28/11: The Obama doctrine: A gray area the size of Libya • 03/24/11: Dems as Weiners • 03/23/11: Obama's quick trip from tyrant to weakling • 03/17/11: Who's afraid of Elizabeth Warren? • 03/15/11: The underwear flap over Bradley Manning • 03/10/11: In Senate's debt debate, talk isn't cheap • 03/09/11: With Obama's new Gitmo policy, Administration officials had some 'splainin to do • 03/02/11: Issa press aide scandal is like bad reality TV • 02/25/11: Jay Carney: Mouthpiece for an inscrutable White House • 02/14/11: The Donald trumps the pols at CPAC • 02/09/11: Arianna Huffington's ideological transformation © 2011, Washington Post Writers Group