Obama’s Promise of Greater Openness and Transparency – “Just Words”
May 21st 2010 17:23
President Obama campaigned with the promise that Washington DC would become more open and transparent under his administration. The reality is; not only has his administration become less open and transparent, he has done the same. The only time the President becomes open and transparent is when he is apologizing to some foreign country for what he deems as the misdeeds of America or he is trying to sell some policy to the American people that they obviously do not want.
In a move that was quite ironic, President Obama signed the Daniel Pearl Freedom of the Press Act on Monday, then, refused to take any questions from the press. Responses such as this were surprising in the early days of the Obama administration, but they have now become par for the course.
The last time the President participated in a full-blown, open-ended press conference was back in July of 2009. Yet when Obama was campaigning, he was having a press conference at every opportunity and even took advantage of non-opportunities if such were possible. According to the Huffington Post, Obama conducted five press conferences during his first six months in office, and but none over the ten following months.
The Press Core was in attendance at the Oval Office when Obama signed the Daniel Pearl Press Freedom Act, which requires the State Department to list countries that threaten press freedoms and permit violence against journalists. Obama said the law “puts us clearly on the side of journalistic freedom".
After Obama signed the bill, Chip Reid of CBS News asked the president if he still has confidence in BP in the wake of the massive oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. Obama responded by saying, "You are free to ask them. I'm not doing a press conference today." Reid followed that up with, “In the interest of press freedom, would you take a couple questions on BP?”
This is the same man who had a ready answer for every question not so long ago, sometimes taking fifteen minutes to give a five minute answer. Some people would say that Obama is no longer the same man who came into office. Others say that Obama the campaigner and Obama the president are two very different people. It just might be that the old proverb, “when your bucket gets kicked, whatever is in it will come spilling out”, really is true.
Obama seems to enjoy news that he can manipulate, but he disdains any news organization that calls him out. It is reported when Presidents Obama and Calderon were walking to the Oval Office, Reid of CBS news shouted, “Do you have any plans for a REAL press conference?”, to which Obama did not respond. It was not too long ago that the White House refused to grant interviews to Fox News and tried to limit its access because the network was critical of the Obama administration. While Fox News may have its faults, the real issue is that Obama could not manipulate it to his point of view.
The actions of the Obama administration seem to fly in the face of the Daniel Pearl Freedom of the Press Act. Because they have been able to control the press and manipulate certain liberal news agencies, Obama has not had to answer hard questions about a number of critical issues. Really, this should come as no surprise considering that he frequently refused or declined to release many personal documents that most candidates do automatically during his campaign.
Though Obama promised to be the most transparent president in history, his promise now appears to be “just words.”
In a move that was quite ironic, President Obama signed the Daniel Pearl Freedom of the Press Act on Monday, then, refused to take any questions from the press. Responses such as this were surprising in the early days of the Obama administration, but they have now become par for the course.
The last time the President participated in a full-blown, open-ended press conference was back in July of 2009. Yet when Obama was campaigning, he was having a press conference at every opportunity and even took advantage of non-opportunities if such were possible. According to the Huffington Post, Obama conducted five press conferences during his first six months in office, and but none over the ten following months.
The Press Core was in attendance at the Oval Office when Obama signed the Daniel Pearl Press Freedom Act, which requires the State Department to list countries that threaten press freedoms and permit violence against journalists. Obama said the law “puts us clearly on the side of journalistic freedom".
After Obama signed the bill, Chip Reid of CBS News asked the president if he still has confidence in BP in the wake of the massive oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. Obama responded by saying, "You are free to ask them. I'm not doing a press conference today." Reid followed that up with, “In the interest of press freedom, would you take a couple questions on BP?”
This is the same man who had a ready answer for every question not so long ago, sometimes taking fifteen minutes to give a five minute answer. Some people would say that Obama is no longer the same man who came into office. Others say that Obama the campaigner and Obama the president are two very different people. It just might be that the old proverb, “when your bucket gets kicked, whatever is in it will come spilling out”, really is true.
Obama seems to enjoy news that he can manipulate, but he disdains any news organization that calls him out. It is reported when Presidents Obama and Calderon were walking to the Oval Office, Reid of CBS news shouted, “Do you have any plans for a REAL press conference?”, to which Obama did not respond. It was not too long ago that the White House refused to grant interviews to Fox News and tried to limit its access because the network was critical of the Obama administration. While Fox News may have its faults, the real issue is that Obama could not manipulate it to his point of view.
The actions of the Obama administration seem to fly in the face of the Daniel Pearl Freedom of the Press Act. Because they have been able to control the press and manipulate certain liberal news agencies, Obama has not had to answer hard questions about a number of critical issues. Really, this should come as no surprise considering that he frequently refused or declined to release many personal documents that most candidates do automatically during his campaign.
Though Obama promised to be the most transparent president in history, his promise now appears to be “just words.”
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