The president recieves award for transparency..... in a private meeting

[Dave]

Mr. "I will have the most transparent administration ever" is at it again. The president was recently given an award for transparency, he of course received the award in a private ceremony in the oval office. As the article mentioned, you would think they would want this sort of news out there in the public to further prove their point of being transparent but yet, they keep it in private. One thing I've noticed about this administration is that they are quite good at doing one thing, making silly mistakes that make them look dumb in eyes of the public.

The president accepted a transparency award in a closed, undisclosed meeting. AP Photo Close

President Obama finally and quietly accepted his “transparency” award from the open government community this week — in a closed, undisclosed meeting at the White House on Monday.

The secret presentation happened almost two weeks after the White House inexplicably postponed the ceremony, which was expected to be open to the press pool.

This time, Obama met quietly in the Oval Office with Gary Bass of OMB Watch, Tom Blanton of the National Security Archive, Danielle Brian of the Project on Government Oversight, Lucy Dalglish of the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press, and Patrice McDermott of OpenTheGovernment.org, without disclosing the meeting on his public schedule or letting photographers or print reporters into the room.

“Our understanding going into the meeting was that it would have a pool photographer and a print reporter, and it turned out to be a private meeting,” Bass told POLITICO. “He was so on point, so on target in the conversation with us, it is baffling why he would not want that message to be more broadly heard by reporters and the public interest community and the public generally.”

Just hours before the White House put off the original event, White House press secretary Jay Carney was defiant in his defense of Obama’s transparency record against criticism that it might have been premature.

“This president has demonstrated a commitment to transparency and openness that is greater than any administration has shown in the past, and he’s been committed to that since he ran for President and he’s taken a significant number of measures to demonstrate that,” Carney said in a testy exchange with Fox News reporter Wendell Goler on March 16.

The transparency advocates who presented the award to Obama say that the recognition is important, because despite the work left to be done, Obama has done a lot to change the government’s posture toward openness issues.

But others believed the positive reinforcement was more than a little unnecessary.

“I don’t feel moved today to say ‘thank you, Mr. President,’” said Steve Aftergood, the director of the Project on Government Secrecy at the Federation of American Scientists. But he said he understands the award to be “aspirational,” in recognition of Obama’s potential to do more on the transparency front.

“And in that sense, one could say it resembles the award at the Nobel Peace Prize,” Aftergood said. “It’s not because Obama brought peace to anyone but because people hoped he would be a force for good in the world, and maybe that’s the way to understand this award.”

http://www.politico.com/politico44/perm/0311/not_a_secret_anymore_a...

[AQUAMAN]

Is this the way to earn significant and important awards these days, with "what you hope, might, or could do/accomplish"? More baseless energy expended by empty agencies. Pitiful...........

[Willy]

This is a perfect example of how many people have been duped by Obama. We have become a nation of idiots. What fascinates me is how the press goes along with this insanity. I have no words to describe how frustrating it is to see this country being led down the path of destruction by radical politicians while the people  and the press have their heads up their a_s. We are some of the dumbest people on Earth.

[AQUAMAN]

I would prefer to call the people dumbed down, and apathetic, mostly due to the over-stressed out situation of the day, and the presses complicity of select reporting on such matters. Hey, just look at the local political situation, ask questions that may be embarrassing or too nosy, get a lot order and public character assassination in the paper.

[J.B]

I wonder if Joe, Nancy and Harry was invited.  Did he create this award for himself?