The Transparency Chronicles

Remember this?

Um, yeah, about that touchstone thing? Forget it. Again.

The most recent proof that we have of Barack Obama's utter failure to remain open, transparent, and accountable to the American people is when a small group of protesters were...uh...removed from an area near the White House. Oh, and so were a group of reporters covering the protest. Hm. Call me crazy, but that doesn't sound very transparent, does it? The details:

Reporters ... were forced out of Lafayette Square by police. The scene, captured on video, is remarkable given the historical importance of the park as a protest spot across the street from 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.

President Obama, who boasts of the most transparent administration in history, is facing increasingly angry rhetoric on the issue. But the more important matter facing the administration today involves freedom of the press. Why would Secret Service officers, charged with protecting the White House, order credentialed journalists to leave the scene of a public protest?

The incident should raise red flags with Obama and the reporters who cover him. It’s unacceptable for journalists to be chased away from a public venue under the guise of preventing negative publicity for the White House.

Watch for yourself:

Well, maybe they had gotten out of hand and were posing a danger to bystanders. That would be a legitimate reason to kick 'em out, right? No dice...they were being quite restrained, it seems.

Now, here's where it gets really amusing: what were these people protesting? Obama's failure to repeal the Don't Ask, Don't Tell policy. That's right, these were left-wingers. Gay rights activists. His own base.

If that's how open and transparent he is with his own core constituency, is it any wonder he shows outright hostility mixed with arrogant condescension for his political opponents on the Right?

One last note on this. On the very same day that the cops were kicking out protesters and the press from a long-standing traditional protest area, here's Obama's press secretary:

You just can't make this stuff up! And even if you could, there's no need.

There's my two cents.