Obama receives openness award in private

WASHINGTON, March 30 (UPI) -- An official who presented President Obama with an award for supporting government transparency said he doesn't know why the media was excluded from the event.
Gary Bass of OMB Watch was among the handful of transparency advocates who admitted feeling a little odd meeting with Obama behind closed doors this week in order to salute his support for openness.
"Our understanding going into the meeting was that it would have a pool photographer and a print reporter, and it turned out to be a private meeting," Bass told Politico. "He was so on target in the conversation. It is baffling why he would not want that message to be more broadly heard by reporters and the public."
Politico said Wednesday the seeming contradiction came up at a White House briefing in which press secretary Jay Carney insisted his boss "has demonstrated a commitment to transparency and openness that is greater than any administration has shown in the past."

Read more: http://www.upi.com/Odd_News/2011/03/30/Obama-receives-openness-award-in-private/UPI-75611301527075/#ixzz1I8GYb4ez