None But Honest and Wise Men

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None But Honest and Wise Men
by Robert Yoho, Columnist and Senior Editor

November 10, 2009

"Eye on Conservatism"

Columnist Robert Yoho When John and Abigail Adams first moved into the White House, President Adams wrote: "May none but honest and wise men ever rule under this roof."

Honesty and wisdom - now isn't that a concept for our nation's Chief Executive!

There have certainly been many times in the founding of our Republic where wisdom was more needed than it is now. However, there has never been a time where both qualities, honesty and wisdom, were more necessary than in our current administration.

There has also never been a time when they were in such short supply.

While campaigning for the office once held by John Adams, President Obama claimed that his administration would be one of the most open in our country's history. The candidate further stated that he would not sign any bill into law without giving Americans at least 72 hours to read the legislation.

But that was the campaign; this is now.

House and Senate Democrats, led by Rep. Nancy Pelosi and Sen. Harry Reid, routinely have been allowing bills to come to a vote that the American people haven't had a chance to read. But that is not the worst of it.. The senators and congressmen who voted on this legislation, which was suspiciously rushed to the chamber floor, couldn't have had the chance to read these bills also.

That behavior is certainly not wise; it is definitely not honest.

As part of his continuing squabble with the Fox News Network, this week, the Obama administration tried to make their "pay czar," Kenneth Feinberg available to every member of the network news pool, other than Fox News. In a rare display of wisdom from them, the major networks told the president that they wouldn't participate if Fox News was left out of the process. Somebody in these other networks finally realized that any assault on Fox News might eventually be an assault on them as well.

What wrath might these networks ever incur should they ever choose to be anything other than slobbering sycophants for the Democratic Party? In addition, Obama's attempt to pick and choose which news outlets he deems to be legitimate is a blatant attack on the First Amendment, one of these pesky, little Constitutional principles which the president took an oath to uphold in January.

"What it's really about to me is the Executive Branch of the government trying to tell the press how it should behave," Baltimore Sun TV critic David Zurawik said. "I mean, this democracy-we know this-only works with a free and unfettered press to provide information." After the president finally relented on his demands, he was later quoted as saying that he's not "losing sleep" over the process. That is certainly not honest, because somebody in the administration is obviously losing sleep over the commentary, reporting, and news analysis by Fox!

Administration officials are not free agents. They do not operate in a vacuum. They do not take actions without the direct approval and endorsement of the president. And those who do are quickly to become ex-administration officials.

No, this action was directly the result of Obama insomnia.

By his most recent actions, the president has made it clear that he does not wish to be fettered by an unfettered press. What did John Adams say again, "None but honest and wise men?"

This administration was overwhelmingly elected because they were permitted to evade the intense media scrutiny that Fox News offers its viewers on a daily basis. Candidate Obama was also spared the networks' nightly anal exam, a hostile level of reporting that was routinely directed at the president's predecessor.

Largely due to the networks' lack of campaign scrutiny, the president was led to believe that nobody would thwart his policies. Lately, that has not been the case.

And Obama has not taken it well at all.

The American people have made it clear that they do not support Obama's health care policy in its present form. Apparently, the president doesn't care what they think.

Scrutiny and daylight are not his friends. Moreover, he knows it.

In order to pass his programs, it is essential that they are not accurately reported. It is also critical that the public not be granted the time to review the legislation.

It was John Adams' wish that the White House would only be filled by "honest and wise men."

Increasingly, it has become obvious that both of those grand and noble qualities are severely lacking in the current occupant. ***

Photo of Robert Yoho courtesy of staff files