off to a good start: Obama reverses the Bush Family's code of Omerta

The Agitator has a good summary of some of the things Obama did on his first full day in office. Apparently reversing Bush policies on excessive government secrecy was a high priority. It should go without saying, but after 8 years of Bushism it bears repeating: openness and transparency is essential to a well-functioning democracy. There is a direct correlation between the amount of information the electorate has about what the government is doing and the ability of the electorate to make prudent electoral decisions (for a good example, look no further than the 2004 election).

So obviously I am happy to see Obama making this a high priority, and by all appearances the actions he took yesterday will go a long way toward bringing about a more well-informed electorate. But merely as a word of caution: issuing these directives now, at the beginning of his administration when it has no information it would rather hide, is relatively easy; the hard part will be the ongoing follow-through. But clearly Obama deserves the benefit of the doubt because he -- unlike Bush -- is showing through his earliest presidential words and deeds that he takes this seriously and believes it is important.