AP: Obama Says Bush Not Solely to Blame

[Perky]

Obama's speech in Cedar Falls: WOW
By AMY LORENTZEN
Associated Press Writer

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/O/OBAMA_OPEN_GOVERNMENT?SITE=CATOR&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2007-08-15-19-04-18

CEDAR FALLS, Iowa (AP) -- Not all the nation's ills can be blamed on President Bush, Democratic candidate Barack Obama said Wednesday as he called on Americans to change the nature of politics and institute more openness in government.

"Part of the problem here is not just George Bush and the White House," Obama told a crowd of hundreds gathered at a park in Cedar Falls. "We can't just change political parties and continue to do the same kind of things we've been doing. We can't just go about business as usual and think it's going to turn out differently."

Obama, a senator from Illinois, said average Americans must be brought back to the table when dealing with every issue, from health care to education to trade.

"We've got to make sure workers are represented, not just CEOs. We've got to make sure patients are represented and the nurses are represented, not just drug companies," he said.

To make the government more accountable, Obama said he would post all non-emergency bills online for five days before he signed them into law, allowing Americans a chance to weigh in on the legislation. In addition, he said he would post all meetings between lobbyists and government agencies online.

Obama said he would require Cabinet officials to speak to Americans via national broadband town-hall style meetings to discuss issues at their agencies. He also pledged to issue an executive order that information about the government's operations must be released to those seeking it unless it could harm a protected interest.

[SharonAnn]

1. Wow! Real democracy! Won't it be great. And I'm jealous I don't live there now.

[peacebird]

2. Very impressive! Very impressive indeed!

[Frustratedlady]

3. The sad thing is, "They" won't let him get anywhere near the WH.

Look at the establishment he will have to overcome. Carter did it, but look at how both sides made fun of him and tied his hands on a lot of issues. I'm not trying to be a downer, as I'd love to experience what Obama is referring to, but the powerful ain't gonna let it happen.

The only way is for the people to march in a Mr. Smith kind of way...

[Mutineer]

4. Exactly.

It'll never happen. Unfortunately. HRC is preordained.

[Terri S]

6. The establishment doesn't vote... WE do!

Every time I hear this I think.... well now, we bitch and moan about Congress not standing up for their principles, and here we are saying 'they' won't allow it? The media may have crowned Senator Clinton, but they have been irrelevent for a very long time. The only 'they' that can really stop the people's voice are Diebold, et al ... and in that case, you may have a point.

[JDPriestly]

5. Good ideas. Openness in government makes govern more

honest and more effective. It is absolutely essential. In California, we have the Brown Act which promotes more open government. I believe that openness -- truthfulness -- encourages trust. I blame Rove for a lot of the excessive secretiveness of the Bush administration. The Bush administration would be not just embarrassed but probably powerless if the public knew the true extent of its political dirty tricks and propaganda campaigns.

Obama is correct to the extent that we are to blame when we allow this secretiveness to exist. It is incompatible with democracy.

[AnnieBW]

7. I'm liking this guy more and more

Even though I'm for Richardson (well, except for his stupid answer about gays), I'm liking Obama more and more. The American people have let our most precious gift, our democracy, slip through our fingers. I keep thinking back to that steelworker at the AFL-CIO debate asking "What's wrong with America?" The answer is, sir, that you and all of the other "Reagan Democrats" cared more about God, guns and gays than about what was happening to this country. People deserted the Democrats in droves because their pastors told them to. They thought that they were upholding "traditional values" - meanwhile, the things that they valued the most were being stripped away from them.