“An attitudinal sea change. I think that's the hardest one to fix. Presidential directives, bills, provisions can all be rescinded, repealed, amended, but attitudes linger. The hardest thing is going to be to try to reverse an attitude, a bunker mentality that equates secrecy with either security or heightened efficiency and that regards transparency as an invitation to mischief and trespass. This default position of operating in the shadows is going to be somewhat appealing to whomever inherits office.” ThinkingTryingAttitudeSeaSecurityPositionOfficeShadowRegardBillsHardestPresidentialMentalityReverseEfficiencyHardest ThingInvitationsSecrecyTransparencyProvisionMischiefDefaultBunkersSea Change Author:Ted Gup
“Another factor is the post-9/11 security mentality, which views sunlight as toxic and imagines that somehow bin Laden is dependent upon our government documents, a "fact" that has never, ever been supported to my knowledge. So, that's the second factor.” FactsGovernmentViewsImagineSecurityFactorsPostsDependentToxicMentalityImagine ThatSunlightDocumentsBin Laden Author:Ted Gup
“And fourthly there is a major shift in public opinion and attitude to accommodate to the post-9/11 mentality and the Bush administration's penchant for secrecy. I think the public has simply become increasingly accustomed to being turned away from vital information and is protesting less and less. You have some squeaky wheels out there, but I don't think they're representative of the population at large.” ThinkingAttitudeOpinionInformationMajorsPopulationAdministrationPostsWheelsMentalityRepresentativesAccustomedPublic OpinionSecrecyAccommodateSqueaky Wheel Author:Ted Gup
“The press is going to have to learn anew that it's possible to work in an environment that is not so toxic and to readopt those kinds of techniques. The relationship between the press and the Clinton White House during the later period was not a healthy one. There was a lot of hostility and a lot of suspicion. This administration has done systematically what no other administration had done. They came in with a corporate mentality, an ability to stay on script that was without parallel.” KindDoneHouseAbilityWhiteEnvironmentPeriodsHealthyPressesClintonScriptsTechniqueAdministrationCorporateWhite HouseToxicMentalitySuspicionParallelsHostility Author:Ted Gup