Byron York hits Obama for not keeping up with his campaign promise to put legislation on the White House website five days before it's signed.
Go back to “Sunlight Before Signing.” In the case of the stimulus, there was never any doubt Obama would sign the legislation. The period in which the public needed sunlight was before the bill was passed, not before it was signed. And that was precisely the kind of sunlight the White House and Democrats wanted to stop. Once they accomplished that with Friday's voting gambit, Obama could take a few days off in Chicago while the “emergency” legislation sat on his desk. Then, it was on to Denver for the photo-op.
York's criticism of the Obama administration's concern for optics is well taken. That said, York criticizes Obama for not following through on his "sunlight" promise without acknowledging that the White House operation is currently "in the technological dark ages."
I think it's good that York is poking the administration in the right direction, even if I think Obama has every intention of fulfilling his promise. The fact is that several bills have passed without having been "sunlighted" first, and it's important to remind the administration of their commitment in this area.
-- A. Serwer