A popular governor with a reputation for arrogance decides he’s going to run for president. He says he’s proud of his accomplishments as governor, but is nevertheless concerned about how political opponents may use some of his gubernatorial decisions against him, not to mention reporters, with whom he has never really gotten along. So, the governor decides to seal his gubernatorial records from public view.
Who’s the governor? Howard Dean in 2002? George W. Bush in 2000? Actually, the description applies to both.
The newest political flap for Howard Dean, all of a sudden, is his decision to place a 10-year seal on his records. In a matter of just one day, the story became all the rage with political reporters covering his campaign, many of whom seem to believe that Dean is acting like he has something to hide.
Newsweek got the ball rolling with a brief item in this week’s issue. Michael Isikoff wrote a piece, ominously headlined, “What’s in Howard Dean’s Secret Vermont Files?” which reported that “Dean’s efforts to keep official papers secret appear unusually extensive.”
Isikoff explained that late last year, “Dean’s chief counsel [David Rocchio] sent a directive to all state agencies ordering them to cull their files and remove all correspondence that bore Dean’s name-and ship them to the governor’s office to be reviewed for ‘privilege’ claims…. The sealed papers include Dean’s correspondence with advisers on, among other matters, Vermont’s ‘civil unions’ law and a state agency that critics charged was used to grant tax credits to Dean’s favored firms.”
ABC News’ The Note followed up yesterday, noting that “people are asking legitimate questions about all this.” The Note also mentioned that Dean’s advisors are insisting that there are no “smoking guns” in the hidden documents, but wonders how they could know since no one’s reviewed them.
Charlie Gibson also mentioned the flap on yesterday’s Good Morning America, asking Dean why there was a need for so much secrecy. Dean responded by saying that Bush “takes the cake” when it comes to sealed records. Dean said, “I’ll unseal mine if he’ll unseal all of his.”
Dean’s right, in a sense, about Bush. The former Texas governor had his gubernatorial records sent to his father’s presidential library at Texas A&M, where they are kept from public scrutiny (requests have to go through the state’s attorney general’s office, who just happens to be a close Bush ally).
That said, Dean’s comparison makes him look slightly worse. Isn’t Dean promising to be the anti-Bush? If Dems are sick and tired of Bush’s secrecy, shouldn’t Dean be acting in a more forthright manner? For Dean to argue that he’s no worse than Bush is setting a pretty low standard for himself.
Apparently, Joe Lieberman’s campaign was watching Good Morning America because they pounced on the issue, issuing a statement saying Dean’s decision to seal his records is inconsistent with his claim to be a straight talker.
“That’s not the way to build public trust — especially after three years of secret-keeping and information-blocking by George W. Bush,” Lieberman said. A few hours later, at a campaign stop in New Hampshire, Lieberman said, “I think Howard’s got an obligation now to do it or explain why not.”
A few hours later, John Kerry joined the fun, issuing a statement that read, “The highest office in the land requires the highest level of openness for the American people…. As president, openness will be the hallmark of my administration, not some talking point.”
The New Republic’s Franklin Foer also blasted Dean’s hypocrisy.
“[Dean’s decision] reveals a major amount of chutzpah,” Foer said. “Dean has relentlessly bludgeoned the president and his men for their tendency towards furtiveness. At the time of the l’affair Yellowcake, he bellowed, ‘Mr. President, the time for evasiveness, secrecy, contradictory statements and ducking responsibility is over.'”
This flap was a minor story in Vermont about a year ago, when in-state reporters complained about Dean’s decision. At the time, Dean told Vermont Public Radio, “We didn’t want anything embarrassing appearing in the papers at a critical time.”
While I appreciate Dean’s candor, he was essentially admitting that the records were sealed for political purposes. Instead of some creative excuse, Dean acknowledged, on the air, that he didn’t want anyone to find “anything embarrassing” from his years as governor.
He gets bonus points for honesty, but it’s still the wrong answer. Governors are not supposed to hide information from public view for political gain. By admitting that he did just that, Dean has played into his critics’ hands.
At least in the short term, this flap doesn’t appear to be going away. USA Today ran a lengthy article about the controversy today, which noted that a lawsuit may be forthcoming to open Dean’s records to public view. The New York Times published an article on this, as well.
Stay tuned.