So much for Hope and Change

So much for that idea!

In his first weeks in office, President Barack Obama shut down his predecessor’s system for reviewing regulations, realigned and expanded two key White House policy making bodies and extended economic sanctions against parties to the conflict in the African nation of Cote D’Ivoire.

Despite the intense scrutiny a president gets just after the inauguration, Obama managed to take all these actions with nary a mention from the White House press corps.

The moves escaped notice because they were never announced by the White House Press Office and were never placed on the White House web site.

They came to light only because the official paperwork was transmitted to the Federal Register, a dense daily compendium of regulatory actions and other formal notices prepared by the National Archives. They were published there several days after the fact.

A Politico review of Federal Register issuances since Obama took office found three executive orders, one presidential memorandum, one presidential notice, and one proclamation that went unannounced by the White House.

via The White House’s missing documents – Josh Gerstein – Politico.com.

Normally, I would not give two flips about something like this, But Mr. B. Hussein Obama promise change and total transparency. What we have gotten is the the some old Washington politics. Nothing changed, just skin of the President is a bit darker and the political party is very different.

Others: protein wisdom, Townhall.com, Hot Air, NewsBusters.org, Outside The Beltway