The Bush and Obama White House cited executive privilege in not releasing e-mails from their respective Gulf Coast disasters. Obama's BP "Oil Spew" and Bush's Katrina "Toxic Gumbo" claimed lives before both administrations cried "unprecedented disaster."
Investigations into White House disaster operations weren't able to locate the honesty promised by George W. Bush or the transparency offered by Barack Obama.
A government lawyer offered in the BP case:
“Disclosure of these documents would chill the open and candid discussion of internal opinions, ideas, and strategies” among federal policy makers, including the Executive Office of the President, during a future incident like the Deepwater Horizon oil spill."
By hiding past mismanagement, the government will be able to do better next time? Hardly.
How many more unprecedented disasters will occur before citizens' right to a fair and complete investigation outweighs a president's right to privacy? Privacy, it's the principle that cuts one way.
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