This will send shock waves through the minds of my readers. I want President Obama to be a success. Wait; don’t rush the stage! During the campaign and since being sworn into office, candidate Obama, now President Obama promised the American people he would have the most transparent administration ever. He also promised the American people he would insist that the rule of law be obeyed to the letter and spirit of the law. I am waiting for the time when we can celebrate as a nation of freedom loving people that President Obama is successful in obtaining those two promised goals.
We have to wonder how many more scandals will be “breaking news” as we awaken to face a new day. The “in-your-face” attitudes coming from the members of President Obama’s administration demonstrates the exact opposite of openness and transparency. When members of this administration are called to testify before congressional committees and show up to admit they know nothing or they react with an attitude of disdain for the process to the point they give answers that can be called ridiculous at best and contemptible at worst. The rule of law requires congressional oversight of policy and actions of areas of our Federal government. To have complete transparency from the government, it is required that correct answers be given to members of the committees when they ask questions. In our country, the law is broken when someone willingly lies under oath. The current administration is not the first to try these types of responses in order to skirt the law or regulations requiring total disclosure. This administration, however, promised the American people while running for office and since being in office, this type of atmosphere would not be allowed or tolerated. Thus, my statement that I am in full agreement with President Obama and support his promise to have the most transparent and open administration ever is made to point to the fact that fulfillment of his promise has not occurred up to this point in his administration.
Some people reading this column might think I am not serious and that I really do not want to see President Obama be a success. Nothing could be further from the truth or my intent in writing this column. I want to believe President Obama. I want to see the fulfilling of his promise to have an open and transparent administration that respects and keeps the law by letter and spirit.
With each new revelation of overreach and abuse of power coming from this administration, we are further from what has been promised and moving on a path directly opposite from the promises made. The bigger-government-control-crowd is certainly in place and flexing their muscle and using their power to the point of shopping around to find judges who will sign the court orders that on their appearance are subject to question and congressional review. We have reached the point in our nation where trust has been pushed out the door and believability of administration officials have fallen to the bottom of the scale. Last week, the New York Times admitted this administration had lost credibility. When partisans on both sides of the aisle begin to call for a halt to certain actions and send out warnings of abuse of power and overreach by an administration, it is time for the advisors to the president and members of the departments of government to fess up and to come clean with truthful answers to the questions the American people are asking.
The lack of transparency on the provision of guns across the border into Mexico, known as the operation of “Fast and Furious,” the lack of full disclosure regarding what happened in Libya, the revelation of snooping on reporters, spying on the American people, and the overreach and abuse of power by the IRS against what can only be called an “enemies list” all add up to government secrecy, not openness or transparency.
When the Obama administration begins to live up to the promise of complete government transparency and follows the rule of law to the letter and spirit, we will all benefit as a nation. Trust can be restored; honesty can become the legacy of this administration when the decision is made to truly live up to the promises made. Until then, I agree with the New York Times, “All credibility is lost,”
Ray Newman
No comments:
Post a Comment