Another day, another killer RNC video needling the Obama administration. This time, they're taunting members of the executive branch for repeatedly declining to incriminate themselves during sworn Congressional testimony. A doff of the cap to whomever thought of framing the clip around the question of identifying Obama's "favorite" constitutional amendment. Not only is it cheeky within this context, it also calls to mind the president's recent legal struggles, attempted demagoguery of the Supreme Court, and subsequent feeble spin. Virtuosic:
How perfect that the latest CYA "no comments" come just as the Obama machine begins its dopey "what's Romney hiding?" song and dance. As Carol quipped last night, is this really the fight they want to have? But on a more serious note, will there ever be real accountability for any of this? Architects of the lethal Fast and Furious program were promoted, and the Justice Department continues to stonewall Congressional investigators to the point of insult. Post-Solyndra, Secretary Chu awarded himself an 'A' grade for his handiwork on energy costs (I seriously doubt this report will stifle his ongoing self-congratulation tour). And the unparodiable outrages continue to pile up in the wake of the GSA junket fiasco. Toss in the recent revelations of influence peddling and cash for access inside the White House, and Americans may begin to suspect President Obama may have been talking out of his posterior when he handed down this grand pronouncement on the second day of his administration:
"The way to make government responsible is to hold it accountable. The way to make government accountable is to make it transparent, so the American people can know exactly what decisions are being made, how they're being well made, and whether their interests are being well served...For a long time now, there's been too much secrecy in this city. The old rules said that if there was a defensible argument for not disclosing something to the American people, then it should not be disclosed. That era is now over, starting today."
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Back in those early, heady days, Obama pledged that transparency would be a "touchstone" of his administration. Touchstone - noun - "a standard or criterion by which something is judged or recognized." Three-and-a-half years later, it's ignore, deny, scoff, then plead the fifth. Now if only we could get the Vice President to avail himself of his sacred right to remain silent... I'll leave you with this juicy Politico quote on Obama's track record on FOIA requests:
“Obama is the sixth administration that’s been in office since I’ve been doing Freedom of Information Act work. … It’s kind of shocking to me to say this, but of the six, this administration is the worst on FOIA issues. The worst. There’s just no question about it,” said Katherine Meyer, a Washington lawyer who’s been filing FOIA cases since 1978. “This administration is raising one barrier after another. … It’s gotten to the point where I’m stunned — I’m really stunned.”
Touchstone fail.
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