[freeeee]

But do you not think that the executive branch sometimes needs honest, informed opinion?

Absolutely. I also think the American public needs the same honest informed opinion.

Information they may not be as complete if it were to become public knowledge?

Perhaps you could explain to me why this knowledge, which has a direct bearing on public policy should be held from the public? Perhaps we mere peasants are too weak or stupid to handle the truth?

I know for a fact if this ruling had been made during a Democratic adminstration the reaction on this website would be volcanic.

[green iguana]

Information they may not be as complete if it were to become public knowledge?

Perhaps you could explain to me why this knowledge, which has a direct bearing on public policy should be held from the public? Perhaps we mere peasants are too weak or stupid to handle the truth?

Because if the persons advising the executive branch know that what they say will become a matter of public record, they may not be as forthcoming and the information given may not be as useful.

[GoLightly]

Are you unable to judge a policy on it's merits?

The real life experience of all policy makers have direct bearing on the policies they write. Need we demand documents, dossiers on every teacher they ever had, a list of all books they have read, every magazine they picked up while they waited in their doctors office, transcripts from every trade seminar they ever attended?

Maybe a chip should be implanted in all of us at birth, so we could recreate all input into our psyches, should we ever write any government policy. It would be the only way for "the people" to be fully informed about everything directly behind the creation of any policy.