Jacob Sullum on Obama's Cloak of Invisibility

White HouseWhite HouseBack in 2007, when he was running for president, Barack Obama criticized George W. Bush's expansive vision of executive power, saying, "I reject the view that the president may do whatever he deems necessary to protect national security." The day after taking office in 2009, Obama declared that "my Administration is committed to creating an unprecedented level of openness in Government." Senior Editor Jacob Sullum says those two positions went together, because secrecy requires power and power thrives in secrecy, as Obama himself has been demonstrating for the last four years. 

GET REASON MAGAZINE

Get Reason's print or digital edition before it’s posted online

OUR CURRENT ISSUE:

  • Sex in the Arab world
  • Obama's last gasp at a legacy
  • How arbitrary description of mental illness messes up public policy
  • And much more

SUBSCRIBE

GET REASON MAGAZINE

Get Reason's print or digital edition before it’s posted online

SUBSCRIBE

advertisement