White House Panels Block Public Access

Transparent, not so much

The White House on Tuesday dismissed as a one-time episode the limited access reporters had to a meeting of President Barack Obama's Export Council, but a series of similar difficulties involving other administration advisory panels have undermined Obama's promise to run the most transparent administration in history.

At the regular briefing for reporters, White House Press Secretary Jay Carney snarkily dismissed complaints from the Associated Press's Darlene Superville and Fox News's Ed Henry that the only member of the press corps allowed into the Export Council session was a single print pool reporter.

"It was live-streamed, so everyone in America with electricity and a computer could see it today," Carney said, while also saying he would "take" the objection. "It was just because of the logistics of this, and the fact that it was live-streamed and the print pooler was sent.  I would not read anything bigger than the decision today into today's decision."