[iDzcs7TU]

[markshome23]

Executive priviledge

[invasuant]

Yet another case where, once in office, Bush policies suddenly begin to make sense to The One who would benefit from them.

Why anyone would believe that this politician would be different from every other politician is beyond me. But maybe, after a few years, we can look forward to the American public gaining appropriate levels of cynicism.

[feroiodpiop]

As has been said, Bush paved the way to make Obama the most powerful president, like, ever.

[u2ZQGC6b]

Mission accomplished !

Of course it has taken ... never mind

[oronozopiy]

Change!


Of course, it will take 3 1/2 more years.

You want to bet me (say) 1000$ against Obama winning the 2012 election, Texan?

[DoctorWeryDolt]

Yep. Palin is poised to pick up the reins.

[shashaffff]

Yep. Palin is poised to pick up the reins.

John Huntsman, former governor of Utah and current ambassador to China, will be the 2012 Repug nominee.

ACK!

[cyslespitocop]

I thought the Big O was Oprah and that Obama was Little O

[irrehoobe]

This is no surprise, this is the same guy who was elected into the highest public servant office without showing the public is birth records. And no I don't mean that pos, tracking number blacked out certificate, I mean the actual documents stating the who, what, where, when of birth.

And again, with the blaming Bush for all this. Bush gave Obama all this power....are you forgetting who voted? Bush had policies, Obama kept them going....if they weren't already there he would have just made them. You guys put him in office. I voted McCain, at least with him I KNEW what I was voting for.

[Skete]

MSNBC confirms the AP story:

The Obama administration is fighting to block access to names of visitors to the White House, taking up the Bush administration argument that a president doesn't have to reveal who comes calling to influence policy decisions.

Despite President Barack Obama's pledge to introduce a new era of transparency to Washington, and despite two rulings by a federal judge that the records are public, the Secret Service has denied msnbc.com's request for the names of all White House visitors from Jan. 20 to the present. It also denied a narrower request by the nonpartisan watchdog group Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, which sought logs of visits by

"We are deeply disappointed," said CREW attorney Anne L. Weismann, "that the Obama administration is following the same anti-transparency policy as the Bush administration when it comes to White House visitor records. Refusing to let the public know who visits the White House is not the action of a pro-transparency, pro-accountability administration."

Groups that advocate open government have argued that it's vital to know the names of White House visitors, who may have an outsized influence on policy matters.

The visitor logs have been released in only a few isolated cases, most notably records of visits by lobbyist Jack Abramoff to the Bush White House, and in the "filegate" investigation of the Clinton White House. Only the Bush and Obama administrations are known to have made an argument in court that the visitor logs should be private.

The Obama administration is arguing that the White House visitor logs are presidential records — not Secret Service agency records, which would be subject to the Freedom of Information Act. The administration ought to be able to hold secret meetings in the White House, "such as an elected official interviewing for an administration position or an ambassador coming for a discussion on issues that would affect international negotiations," said Obama spokesman Ben LaBolt.

These same arguments, made by the Bush administration, were rejected twice by a federal judge. The visitor logs are created by the Secret Service and maintained by the Secret Service, U.S. District Judge Royce Lamberth ruled in 2007 and again this January. CREW had requested records of visits to the Bush White House, as well as the residence of Vice President Dick Cheney, by leaders of Religious Right organizations.

"It is the government's position," the Secret Service wrote last week to msnbc.com in denying access to the visitor logs, "that the vast majority, if not all, of the records ... are not agency records subject to the FOIA. Rather, these records are records governed by the Presidential Records Act" and "remain under the exclusive legal custody and control of the White Office and the Office of the Vice President. After the resolution of this litigation, we will respond further to your request if necessary."

The visitor records are kept in two databases:

* Worker and Visitor Entry System (WAVES). This Secret Service database includes information submitted to the Secret Service about individuals who have a planned visit to the White House. This information includes the name of the pass holder submitting the request, the date of the request, the time and location of the planned visit and the nature of the visit or the person to be visited. This information may be updated with the actual date and time of entry and exit. Msnbc.com also requested lists submitted to the Secret Service of groups or delegations of visitors with planned visits to the White House.
* Access Control Records System (ACES). This Secret Service database includes information generated when a pass holder, worker or visitor swipes a permanent or temporary pass over an electronic reader at entrances or exits. This information includes the name of the visitor, the badge number, the post or location, and the date and time of entry or exit.

No private information requested

Msnbc.com excluded from its request any private information on the White House visitors. It asked that the Secret Service delete from the logs any dates of birth, Social Security numbers, and home addresses (other than city and state).

In addition, msnbc.com asked the Secret Service to exclude information on security precautions and the results of background checks on prospective visitors. The White House's position is unacceptable.

[Switiespils]

And maybe if the Dems that tried to Crack Bush with this would still support it now that Obama is in the white house there would be enough public backing to put an end to it.

Your thinking that it's just one party that does this is Sooooooo naive. Partisian politics is the norm, not the exception. Geeze.

[Jenisoisy]

I'm well aware of that, Z. I was just too lazy to add the smiley after "Panama-born"; it's been a common oversight on my part of late. Good to know you acknowledge the accuracy of the rest of that post.

[xanaxist]

Even better. I love it when people don't realize they were called a moron till later.

[beriarele]

You want to bet me (say) 1000$ against Obama winning the 2012 election, Texan?

What odds would you give? It's pretty hard to be voted out as President in the US once the people have voted you in office, in the 20th Century there were only three Presidents who failed in their re-election bids after winning their original tries (Hoover, Carter, Papa Bush). It's pretty hard to predict general public opinion on the guy as an office-holder after 6 months out of 4 years, so if someone agrees to 1:1 odds I think you've found a sucker.

[CaseyFan]

Don't worry, it will come to you. Just wait a bit.

[crestorinfo]

Rah, in truth, a child could understand what you wrote (and write it too). I'm just giving you a chance to redeem yourself. But keep being a jerk, it suits you.

[Grzqbmhy]

But keep being a jerk, it suits you.

[jesyflowers]

Ok, Jrabbit and Sprayber. Neither of those lines were that funny. Unless it's some kind of metahumor that I'm not getting.

[verizon]

Rah, in truth, a child could understand what you wrote (and write it too). I'm just giving you a chance to redeem yourself. But keep being a jerk, it suits you.

Hmm a child could understand it but you can't. Maybe it will take a bit longer than I thought.