Jacob Sullum on Obama's Cloak of Invisibility
Back 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.