Opaque politics is a bad, bad thing / Obama seems a-ok
2008-03-06 / 23:18 / dave
In the running for fastest followup ever…
The worst part of the Bush Administration’s war on facts is their attempt to censor experts. Franklin Foer’s article contains examples, including the climate change debate and Iraq war planning. It’s one thing–not a good thing, mind you–to ignore expert advice, it’s another much worse thing to make it seem like everyone agrees with you. This lack of transparency in expert opinions is just one example of opaque politics being bad. Others are political donations and gotcha legislation hidden within (e.g.) budgetary laws.
Obama’s history seems promising. He cosponsored the 2006 Federal Funding Accountability and Transparency Act. He also plans to augment it. It’s not a panacea–a website and a CTO don’t ensure honesty–but it is a start.