Obama Accepts Transparency Award In Private

WASHINGTON -- President Barack Obama accepted an award for making the government more open and transparent – presented to him behind closed doors with no media coverage or public access allowed.

The discrepancy between the honor and the circumstances under which it was delivered bothered open-government advocates in attendance, they said Thursday. They were even more perturbed when they discovered later that the meeting hadn't even been listed on Obama's public schedule, so there was no way for anyone to know about it.

"To have such a meeting not be transparent is the height of irony. How absurd can that be?" said one participant, Gary Bass, executive director of OMB Watch, which keeps tabs on the White House Office of Management and Budget.

White House spokesman Josh Earnest said that, "Given the number of pressing items on the president's agenda, the White House didn't carve out time for a public event on the president's schedule for the sole purpose of accepting an award from journalists praising his commitment to government transparency."

The award was given by Bass's group and several others Monday to recognize Obama's work toward government openness and encourage him to do more.

Obama took office promising the most open and transparent administration in history, and advocates have been encouraged by steps he's taken including releasing White House visitor logs. They say more needs to be done in getting agencies to respond more thoroughly to public records requests, among other things.

Monday's meeting was rescheduled from one set for March 16, which is National Freedom of Information Day. On that day the meeting was listed on the president's public schedule, but it was canceled at the last minute.

Bass said he'd been assured that Monday's meeting would be open to the media and didn't learn it wouldn't be until arriving at the White House.

Nonetheless he and other advocates were pleased with how the 20-minute discussion went, saying Obama expressed support for greater transparency and backed legislation to protect reporters' confidential sources.

A couple of days later they learned from reporters that the meeting had been omitted from Obama's public schedule altogether.

"I think the action by the White House has taken a meeting where the storyline could have been how to strengthen disclosure, and it's become a storyline about how the meeting is a secret meeting," Bass said.

Loading Slideshow

• George Washington (1789-97)

  <a href="http://www.whitehouse.gov/about/presidents/georgewashington">1st President</a> of the United States (Photo by Three Lions/Getty Images)

• Thomas Jefferson (1801-09)

  <a href="http://www.whitehouse.gov/about/presidents/thomasjefferson">3rd President</a> of the United States (Photo by Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

• James Madison (1809-17)

  <a href="http://www.whitehouse.gov/about/presidents/jamesmadison">4th President</a> of the United States (Photo by National Archive/Newsmakers)

• James Monroe (1817-25)

  <a href="http://www.whitehouse.gov/about/presidents/jamesmonroe">5th President</a> of the United States (Photo by Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

• Andrew Jackson (1829-37)

  <a href="http://www.whitehouse.gov/about/presidents/andrewjackson">7th President </a>of the United States (Photo by Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

• Abraham Lincoln (1861-65)

  <a href="http://www.whitehouse.gov/about/presidents/abrahamlincoln">16th President </a>of the United States -- Lincoln was assassinated on April 14, 1865, after being inaugurated second term. (Photo by Alexander Gardner/Hulton Archive/Getty Images) <em><strong>Correction:</strong> A previous version of this text misstated the amount of time Lincoln had served during his second term before his assassination.</em>

• Ulysses S. Grant (1869-77)

  <a href="http://www.whitehouse.gov/about/presidents/ulyssessgrant">18th President</a> of the United States (Photo by Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

• Grover Cleveland (1885-89, 1893-97)

  <a href="http://www.whitehouse.gov/about/presidents/grovercleveland22">22nd</a> and <a href="http://www.whitehouse.gov/about/presidents/grovercleveland24">24th President</a> of the United States (Photo by National Archive/Newsmakers)

• William McKinley (1897-1901)

  <a href="http://www.whitehouse.gov/about/presidents/williammckinley">25th President</a> of the United States -- McKinley was elected to a second term, but it came to a tragic end when he was assassinated in September 1901. (Courtesy of the National Archives/Newsmakers)

• Theodore Roosevelt (1901-09)

  <a href="http://www.whitehouse.gov/about/presidents/theodoreroosevelt">26th President</a> of the United States -- After McKinley's assassination, Roosevelt completed that term and was then elected to his own term. (Photo by George C. Beresford/Beresford/Getty Images)

• Woodrow Wilson (1913-21)

  <a href="http://www.whitehouse.gov/about/presidents/woodrowwilson">28th President</a> of the United States (Photo by Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

• Calvin Coolidge (1923-29)

  <a href="http://www.whitehouse.gov/about/presidents/calvincoolidge">30th President</a> of the United States -- After President <a href="http://www.whitehouse.gov/about/presidents/warrenharding">Warren G. Harding</a> died of a heart attack in August 1923, Coolidge completed that term and then earned a term of his own. (Photo by National Archive/Newsmakers)

• Franklin D. Roosevelt (1933-45)

  <a href="http://www.whitehouse.gov/about/presidents/franklindroosevelt">32nd President</a> of the United States (Photo by Keystone/Getty Images)

• Harry Truman (1945-53)

  <a href="http://www.whitehouse.gov/about/presidents/harrystruman">33rd President</a> of the United States -- after <a href="http://www.whitehouse.gov/about/presidents/franklindroosevelt">FDR died</a> in April 1945 of a cerebral hemorrage, Truman completed that term, and was then elected to an additional term. (Photo by Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

• Dwight D. Eisenhower (1953-61)

  <a href="http://www.whitehouse.gov/about/presidents/dwightdeisenhower">34th President</a> of the United States (Photo by Keystone/Getty Images)

• Lyndon B. Johnson (1963-69)

  <a href="http://www.whitehouse.gov/about/presidents/lyndonbjohnson">36th President</a> of the United States -- after John F. Kennedy's assassination on Nov. 22, 1963, then-vice president Johnson took over. He completed Kennedy's term and was then elected to one term of his own. (AFP/Getty Images)

• Richard Nixon (1969-74)

  <a href="http://www.whitehouse.gov/about/presidents/richardnixon">37th President </a>of the United States -- Nixon was elected to a second term, but resigned in August 1974 over the Watergate scandal. (AFP/Getty Images) <em><strong>Correction:</strong> A previous version of this slide incorrectly listed Nixon as the 25th President of the United States.

• Ronald Reagan (1981-89)

  <a href="http://www.whitehouse.gov/about/presidents/ronaldreagan">40th President</a> of the United States (Photo credit should read -/AFP/Getty Images)

• Bill Clinton (1993-2001)

  <a href="http://www.whitehouse.gov/about/presidents/williamjclinton">42nd President</a> of the United States (LUKE FRAZZA/AFP/Getty Images)

• George W. Bush (2001-09)

  <a href="http://www.whitehouse.gov/about/presidents/georgewbush">43rd President</a> of the United States (SCOTT OLSON/AFP/Getty Images)

• Barack Obama (2009-Present)

  <a href="http://www.whitehouse.gov/about/presidents/barackobama">44th President</a> of the United States (SAUL LOEB/AFP/Getty Images)

Comments

[WhereSheStops]

05:43 PM on 04/08/2011

bahahahaha!

[kingofallclergy]

02:50 PM on 04/08/2011

Even Obama supporters are getting weary. Can you imagine what would have happened if He had taken the award in public out in the open? clever!

[StopThePlanet]

04:52 PM on 04/01/2011

This is no more ironic than Obama being awarded the Nobel Peace Prize

[2crudedudes]

07:49 PM on 04/05/2011

how is the Peace Prize ironic? Incongruent, inconsistent, maybe. Ironic? Hardly.

[davidpkronmiller]

04:10 PM on 04/01/2011

So this "article"  has no real point....okay - glad I spent the time.

who cares if the meeting was private or public or whatever - he's not a friggin actor who can go to awards presentations all the time - not everything needs a big show.

[StopThePlanet]

04:52 PM on 04/01/2011

Unclear on the concept I see.

[davidpkronmiller]

07:51 PM on 04/01/2011

No crystal clear on concept - don't really care. :)

[DinSea]

03:38 PM on 04/01/2011

Let me revise this:

**Let us not forget the Party of NO when we compare Obama's vision to his accomplishments.**

[DinSea]

03:36 PM on 04/01/2011

This article serves only to spark whiners and Obama bashers. The President is focused on some horrendous world crises right now - when will he get the support he deserves?

This President is the most underrated, under appreciated leader we have had in eons. It hurts my heart. Without him, we would have been over the cliff a long time ago. I fault obstinate obstructionists for every deficiency of this administration. NOT OBAMA ...

**Let us not for get the Part of NO when we compare Obama's vision to his actions.**

[JavaSavant]

03:20 PM on 04/06/2011

"Without him, we would have been over the cliff a long time ago." This is pure conjecture. As someone who voted for Obama, I believe that we would be MUCH better off if Clinton had been elected (also pure conjecture). The fact that he is getting an award for transparency in the first place is ironic. The fact that the ceremony was closed is just icing on the cake.

The fact is that Obama has continued and actively reinforced many Bush policies that he railed against on the campaign trail, and those that are OK with that when they vilified Bush for it are hypocrites.

[maxwelldog]

03:28 PM on 04/01/2011

Maybe the White House AND Huffington Post are having a fun day of it...
I dunno.
But, I do know I take my government seriously, and upon getting a reply from the White House about legalizing marijuana, I fired back a letter too long to print here. So the reply and letter are at:
https://www.omsoft.com/secure/humortimes/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=190
(where I write, sometimes)

[synergie]

02:39 PM on 04/01/2011

Is this an April Fool's thing?

[delsueno]

02:02 PM on 04/01/2011

Let's see... transparency award, peace prize... I guess next he'll be accepting the Changing The Way Washington Does Business award (if nobody lobbies against it) and the FDR Leadership and Integrity award (as soon as the repugs say it's okay for him to accept it... in exchange for shutting down Planned Parenthood and making unions illegal).

[lonbwoy]

12:55 PM on 04/01/2011

A behind doors secret meeting to accept a transparency award, hahaha

[Helzapoppin]

12:30 PM on 04/01/2011

This administration has been no more transparent than the previous one. This is absurd.

[alan2a]

12:28 PM on 04/01/2011

A perfect portraiture of this Administration.

[Eagleman]

12:07 PM on 04/01/2011

We all remember JFK for "ask not what your country can do for you—ask what you can do for your country"...

We can now remember Obama for "Ask not what I do for you - Ask what I say to you"

- Accepting transparency award in secrecy...
- Accepting Noble prize and now in 3 wars...
- Assigning GE CEO for head the jobs council after that company did layoffs and avoided tax
- Extending Guantanamo
- Letting Fannie and Freddie pay millions to their Executives
- DADT

[alan2a]

12:29 PM on 04/01/2011

Etc., etc, etc, etc. Fanned

[kdlaiusa]

12:59 PM on 04/01/2011

Don't forget his Grammy.

[delsueno]

02:29 PM on 04/01/2011

For the song and dance he's been giving the American people? :-D Judging from his campaign performance, I'd say he should get an Oscar, too.

[SueEll]

11:52 AM on 04/01/2011

cripe. hasn't anyone been paying attention to the REALLY BIG PROBLEMS in our country right now? This is nothing. Ask someone who's been out of work for years, ask someone who lost their retirement that they worked a lifetime for, ask someone who can't feed their kids, ask someone who is gravely ill and has no insurance, ask someone with children in a poor, inner city school, ask someone with a relative in one of our never-ending wars? See if THIS is at the top of their complaint list.

[ChubsyUbsy]

10:13 AM on 04/01/2011

Treated as punchbags without rights when first picked up, mostly in Afghanistan and Pakistan in the wake of the 9/11 attacks and the US-led invasion of Afghanistan, the 172 men still held at Guantánamo are still treated with scorn by the administration of Barack Obama, the standard bearer of “hope” and “change,” who promised to close Guantánamo and to do away with...

“...the dark halls of Abu Ghraib and the detention cells of Guantánamo, [where] we have compromised our most precious values.”

Instead, however, Obama has revealed himself to be nothing more than a hollow man whose ability to read from an autocue made him look caring, clever and capable when that was exactly the antidote we needed to eight years of Bush and Cheney.

-Andy Worthington
CommonDreams

http://www.commondreams.org/view/2011/04/01-0