infobong.com

The Bush White House has earned a reputation for its inaccessibility and secrecy. Former spokesperson Ari Fliescher is, of course, the banner-bearer for their tactics with his evasive non-answers to reporters' questions, but the approach pervades the adminstration, from Vice President Cheney's refusal to provide documents to Congresss and the GAO, to witholding of investigation information to 9/11 victim. This policy has been extended to the electronic realm, it appears, The New York Times reports that constituents are now unable to simply email the president; the Bush adminstration has implemented new email rules that require citizens to answer questions about their political leanings and confirm their messages through an automated system. Surveillance worries aside, this is troubling, since it contracts the access ordinary people have to their elected and appointed leaders.