Edwards Says Transparency Will Restore Trust
Tells Sunshine Campaign Says He Will Set New Standards for Openness
Former Sen. John Edwards (D-N.C.), a Democrat seeking the presidency, chided the Bush administration for building "a culture of secrecy that dishonors America's democratic principles of government openness and accountability.
"As president," he wrote in response to the Sunshine Week 2008: Sunshine Campaign Survey, "I will work to restore Americans' trust in their government by creating a transparent government."
Edwards — who responded to the survey with a series of topical statements, rather than question-by-question — said he would establish an e-government system of "dynamic databases to help Americans track government spending, lobbying and campaign contributions as well as new interfaces for citizens to comment on pending bills and regulations."
Although Edwards did not address survey questions on topics such as classification, cameras in courtrooms or presidential records, he did pledge to rescind the Ashcroft memo limiting release of government information and to reduce the Freedom of Information Act request backlog. He also spoke out in defense of federal scientists, pledging that they "will be respected and they will never be censored … or pressured to bend scientific evidence to support an ideological agenda."
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