Sharpe's Opinion
Thursday, 22nd Jan, 2009
On the side of those who seek to make it known
New York Times:
The new president effectively reversed a post-9/11 Bush administration policy making it easier for government agencies to deny requests for records under the Freedom of Information Act, and effectively repealed a Bush executive order that allowed former presidents or their heirs to claim executive privilege in an effort to keep records secret.
“Starting today,” Mr. Obama said, “every agency and department should know that this administration stands on the side not of those who seek to withhold information, but those who seek to make it known.”
Advocates for openness in government, who had been pressing for the moves, said they were pleased. They said the new president had traded a presumption of secrecy for a presumption of disclosure.
“You couldn’t ask for anything better,” said Melanie Sloan, the executive director of Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, an advocacy group that tangled frequently with the Bush administration over records. “For the president to say this on Day 1 says: ‘We mean it. Turn your records over.’”
Long may Obama continue to set a new tone. Change you can believe in, after all?
Comments
I’m not optimistic that David Cameron agrees with me regarding the openness of government data. Some extremely unpopular facts will cause serious ‘political’ problems for any government that is truly open, which would put him off.
It’s about having trust in the better parts of the electorate rather than the policy generators in the think tanks. All the parties still consider political expediency and media presentation in front of how many people they affect and how much better/worse their lives are for it.
He has also taken a courageous & principled stance on civil liberties today.
For about 3 months, I have felt that Obama is much more substantial than the cynics think. The over-enthusiastic types are a bit of an embarassement, but there are valid grounds for hope & change & that sort of business.
Obama isn’t especially left-wing, anyway, nor would I want him to be as I am only a fraction to the left of centre myself. Both socially & economically, he is more liberal than the Republicans.
I also look back upon Bill Clinton’s government aa a time when America was comparatively well run: over the last 16 years it has been proven beyond any reasonable doubt that Democratic governments are simply better than Republican governments. (I do have a high regard for Reagan, but he was so long ago as to be irrelevant in this comparison).
Additionally, just look at the calibre of people he has appointed to the top jobs, after 8 years of philistinism. I want “elitism”*, I want people who are cleverer than me to be setting policy, & I’m delighted that the war on science is over & the hateful Rovian project is dead & buried.
I went on for a bit long there, eh?
*I mean in the good sense, obviously not the sense of pointless class-based bigotry. But then, the son of an immigrant who was raised by a single mother on benefits is hardly likely to engage in the latter.
I assume you don’t mean ‘courageous & principled’ in the, erm… ‘Yes, Minister’ sense of the phrase? 
Yeas, he’s doing well so far. Three days in he’s not wasting any time. Did you notice the shout-out to science and to ‘non-believers’ in his speech? My heart swelled a little…
Yes, I heard that in the speech & I watched him put his money where his mouth is with his appointment of top-notch people to senior positions. Again, why do people sneer at fine words? They are excellent if they are matched with actions, which they have been, & will be in days to come.
Those who want Obama to be a disaster will be disappointed, I reckon 
Excellent news. Bush managed to squeeze through some appallingly authoritarian legislation and it’s interesting to watch a supposedly Lefty government reverse all that.
Letters From A Tory
January 23, 2009 at 10:17 am