Opinion

President Obama must follow up on pledges to support open government

Voters are used to politicians who make promises when they are campaigning but fail to follow up on them once they get elected. President Obama said he would be different, particularly on open government issues. He made more pledges about openness than previous candidates in either party. He said he would make the appointments and set up the programs necessary to help taxpayers keep tabs on the federal government.

So far, Obama's record here is mixed. His commitment to open government got off to a good start but has cooled in recent months. The Sunlight Foundation recently listed several key problems:

The full-time position of "ethic czar" is being eliminated with the departure of Norman Eisen. His duties will be shunted off to other officials who already have full plates.

The president promised to set up a single website - Ethics.gov - to provide a central source of information on ethics and accountability. Nineteen months after he was inaugurated, it still hasn't happened.

In his 2010 State of the Union address, the president also called for a single database of all earmarks and earmark requests. Despite Democratic majorities in the House and Senate, the Earmark Transparency Act is still stalled in both chambers.

In that same speech, the president spoke out in favor of reforming lobbying regulations and making it harder for special interests to influence legislation. Again, that effort has gone nowhere.

President Obama needs to regain the momentum he once had on transparency in government. If he is serious about helping average Americans understand how their tax dollars are being spent, his policies and bill-signings will show it.