Secret Sunshine

Jon Stewart skillfully took it to Presdient Obama last night for his shoddy record on transparency, despite his lofty campaign promises. That record includes Obama's laughable decision to accept a transparency award at a closed-door ceremony that was not on his public schedule. I've posted a video of Stewart's segment below.

Maybe Obama got stagecraft advice from former Iowa Gov. Tom Vilsack. Here's a story I wrote back in March 2006:

Gov. Tom Vilsack showed his admiration for open government Thursday, but in a private ceremony.Vilsack proclaimed next week as “Sunshine Week” in Iowa - a gesture intended to highlight the importance of government transparency and press freedoms.“It wasn't really a public event,” said Jennifer Mullin, a press aide to Vilsack. She said the governor squeezed in the proclamation signing before embarking on a trade mission to India today.The Associated Press, which requested Sunshine Week proclamations in Iowa and a dozen other states, covered Thursday's event. But the signing ceremony was not listed on a weekly public schedule the governor's office provides to members of the Statehouse media.Mullin said Vilsack remarked during the signing that the private ceremony was an “ironic” setting.

Vilsack proclaimed next week as “Sunshine Week” in Iowa - a gesture intended to highlight the importance of government transparency and press freedoms.

“It wasn't really a public event,” said Jennifer Mullin, a press aide to Vilsack. She said the governor squeezed in the proclamation signing before embarking on a trade mission to India today.

The Associated Press, which requested Sunshine Week proclamations in Iowa and a dozen other states, covered Thursday's event. But the signing ceremony was not listed on a weekly public schedule the governor's office provides to members of the Statehouse media.

Mullin said Vilsack remarked during the signing that the private ceremony was an “ironic” setting.

Irony is alive and well. Transparency? In hiding, apparently.