Well, I agree with the rationale, for now. But I'm a little afraid that this becomes a "Thing."
When Bill Simon ran for Governor in CA, he refused to disclose his tax returns. It absolutely killed him until he finally buckled under the pressure and made the disclosures. He never recovered in the polls.
Now the Simon situation was a bit different - it came on the heels of the corporate scandals, and Simon himself was being implicated in some shady tax transactions - so the non-disclosure pretty much led everyone to assume the worst about Simon, and was well timed to become a hot button in the election.
But I think Dean needs to watch this closely. I would hate to see him lose ground and damage his image based on this, especially because there probably isn't anything to hide. Plenty to spin, sure, but hopefully nothing to hide.
Yeah, the problem is this gives rise to the whole "something to hide" meme,a nd makes it harder to critique the Bush administration's extreme use of secrecy as a governing tool.
Come on, gimme a break. Bush was a gov too and has illegally sealed his records in his father's library! So what if he's sitting "pResident", they buried his records nice and tight the minute he thought of running. Why isn't any of THAT remembered and used to counter in addition to SOP explanations??
This has been going on for a long time, but as we've seen, when the opposition are running scared and desperate to find something to spin, they'll grab anything they can.
Remember this article? (immortalized summarily in 'George Bush's Resume')
http://www.motherjones.com/news/
..._documents.html
I've thought a lot about this (please, humor me!)
To begin with, I don't think there could be any heavy ammo in the sealed records - nothing the Governor couldn't handle. And I was very surprised when Howard clearly said, early on, that he wanted them sealed for "political reasons". What if Kerry and Gep and the RNC push and push to have them opened, making a HUGE issue out of it, succeed in getting access to some of the records and - voila - there's still nothing there! So, what then? Admit Dean doesn't have any skeletons, or push to open some more?
Dean has said he'll open his if Bush does the same. He hinted today that more might be available for review - he'd have to look into it. would this amount to loads of free press and confirmation that Dean is unstoppable?
Some might say, yeah, right, in the dreamworld, maybe. But remember, this is Vermont... 
Heather, the problem is that what you've told me is news to me. And I follow politics closely. If you poll 100 people, I'd bet 1 or 2 at most would know that Bush sealed records.
Perhaps Bush's secrecy immunizes Dean from attacks on this front. But we still need to get through the primary. And the other Dems seem to have no shame in using Karl Rove's talking points to attack Dean.
My fear is that if this starts to gain some steam in the public discourse about Dean, it will become one of the "narratives" of the campaign, and bog him down. If this issue doesn't go away soon, I think Dean needs to figure out some way to release these records.
gspot, i think dean just put himself in that vice grip. he said he'd unseal his papers if bush did the same thing. trouble is, bush lost a lawsuit over those records he stashed at the bush presidential library and they are now public record...
anna, got a reference for that? Hard to imagine that dumbya wouldn't ask ol' family fixit man jim baker to find a way to get that case to the supremes where he's sure to get whatever ruling he needs.
One big difference. The Governor of Texas has almost no power. The Governor of Vermont does have real power.
It's in the Texas Constitution. They elect just about everyone separately. So all state workers owe their allegiance to an elected constitutional officer, not the Governor.
It has always been that way. Texas put in a weak-executive system, Vermont put in a strong executive in 1777.
So there's almost nothing in the Texas Governor's papers. While the Vermont Governor's papers contain nearly every action of the government.
G Spot1:Heather, the problem is that what you've told me is news to me. And I follow politics closely. If you poll 100 people, I'd bet 1 or 2 at most would know that Bush sealed records.
Maybe because they weren't?
anna It would help if you had any idea about what you're talking about. Do you know how to use Google? Or do you think no one else does?
Dean said that he would unseal his Vermont records once Bush unseals his from his stint as governor of Texas. Went on to explain how Bush's records are under seal at his father's library for the next 50 years. The problem? Bush's records are not sealed and are available to the public.
The Records of Governor George W. Bush
I’m sorry that I am so naive, but I think Dean has more to gain by opening his records than by keeping them sealed. That would show how really different he is from your average politician. There are some states that don’t allow records to be sealed at all. Unless he has a specific reason for keeping specific parts sealed (e.g. contract negotiations that might still be going on or subject to ongoing litigation, etc.), he should show how he really believes in transparency and open them all up.
geepers, before you go off on me why don't you re-read what i wrote? i stated that bush's records were now unsealed because he lost a lawsuit over it.
here's the link:
http://www.citizen.org/litigatio...les.cfm?
ID=6638
bush fought tooth and nail to prevent his gubernatorial records from being released. as governor of my state, he signed a law that stated that the texas governor could determine where his or her records were kept. previously the AG had that power. after bush decided to run for pres, he shipped his records off to the george herbert walker bush presidential library where they remained sealed until public citizen successfully sued. the papers were then made the property of the texas AG again but they are still in the library. funny, although they've been subjected to FIOA requests, those requests are being stonewalled for the most part. many journalists and researchers have complained about how long it takes for those requests to be fulfilled.
but again, the bottom line is that bush tried to hide them, lost a lawsuit and they are now open to the public. that is why i said dean put himself in a vice grip. bush's records are open now and i think the gov should open his as well.
woops, correction: the papers are in the texas state archives. sorry 'bout that. i stand by the rest of my statement.
Dear Mr. Dean,
I was one of the people who would have voted for you for President. Your sealing of records and secrecy measures changed my mind. My greatest fear is a government too afraid of its own people to deal in an open and honest way with information about its activities. As Governor your decisions could hardly have been important enough to warrant guarding the public against information which involves national security. As President those decisions will come daily, and if you are unwilling to disclose information which could only embarrass you personally or politically I would not trust you to make national security decisions. Openness and transparency are side effects of a properly run democratic form of government; secrecy and occulted behavior are side effects of more nefarious forms of government. Please reveal your warts to the world and deal with the fact that we are capable of making rational decisions about our future. Otherwise I will tell everyone I know in Chicago about how you got lost in the Green Mountains and had to call the state troopers on your cell phone to find you. I have hiked the entire Long Trail and never needed such pampering, but I wouldn't hide it if I did.
Sincerely,
Devin Wilson
8728 South Richmond Avenue
Evergreen Park, IL 60805