Obama transparency? 'Nixonian,' says newspaper

Secret meetings, orders that records be sealed, court battles to avoid releasing information and restrictions on which reporters are allowed to cover the president's activities.

Sound like Richard Nixon? Yes, according to one major U.S. newspaper.

But the worry on the part of the San Francisco Chronicle isn't over the actions of the Watergate-chased president; they are about Barack Obama's present tenure in the White House.

In fact, a question about the concern over secrecy even was a casualty of the White House policies and practices today.

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Les Kinsolving, WND's correspondent at the White House and the second-most senior reporter on the beat, was denied an opportunity to ask any questions at today's White House daily press briefing.

He had wanted to ask: "The San Francisco Chronicle has described Obama's press access as 'Nixonian.' Do you take any responsibility or were you just following orders. Whose orders? The president's, or Mr. Daly's?"

White House spokesman Jay Carney, however, declined to allow Kinsolving to ask the question.

It was only a little over a week ago that the Chronicle was lamenting the secrecy imposed by Obama on his fundraisers.

It seems Bay Area reporters were not allowed inside the W Hotel at that point when the president was to meet with "hundreds of contributors paying $7,500 or more to attend. Only Washington-based journalists were allowed in the pool – continuing a disturbing trend by this White House to severely limit access to fundraisers."

Wrote the newspaper's commentary on the controversy, "If anything, there is almost a Nixonian quality to the level of control, paranoia – and lack of credibility – this White House has demonstrated on the issue of media access…"

The commentary said local journalists, in fact, are the ones who are best positioned to know who the president is meeting with and probably why at such a fundraiser.

"The White House press office seems to have missed the transparency memo," the newspaper said. "Earlier this spring it threatened to blacklist The Chronicle's Carla Marinucci from future pools after she broke what the White House claimed was an unwritten rule against print reporters shooting video. It threatened further retaliation if the paper reported on the threat – which it did.

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"Incredibly, the White House press office denied making the threats," the paper said.

"Most transparent administration in history? … Right now, we'd settle for straight answers an an opportunity to do our jobs."

Ask President Obama your own question.