The president acknowledges that healthcare negotiations have fallen short of his standard for openness. He says it was a ‘messy process.’

LA Times

By Peter Nicholas
February 1, 2010

Reporting from Washington – One casualty of President Obama’s first year in office: the notion that he would transform a political system mired in gridlock and secrecy, opening a window to the legislative process.

That hasn’t happened. Instead of healthcare negotiations broadcast on C-SPAN, as candidate Obama famously promised, the fate of the landmark bill is being hashed out in private on Capitol Hill. And recent polls indicate that the public has lowered its expectations about the prospect of a more open government.

In his State of the Union speech Wednesday, Obama signaled he isn’t giving up on the idea that he can usher in greater accountability and transparency in Washington. But realities of governing have caused him to trim his ambitions.

In recent days, Obama made a surprising admission: the healthcare negotiations have fallen short of his standard for openness. He told ABC’s Diane Sawyer that healthcare was an “ugly process and it looks like there are a bunch of backroom deals.”

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