Citizen Asks Tough Question of Most Transparent Administration In History, Gets Opaque Answer

Kira Davis

PPPS (Littleton)—A citizen from California, Kira Davis, asked a probing question of President Obama yesterday about his 2008 promise of transparency, and got a decidedly muddled (some might say opaque) response. The President did point out, however, that his was "the most transparent administration in history."

Kira's question was part of the fourth annual Google Plus Fireside Hangout With President Obama, in which a few selected citizens get to interact with and pose questions of the President via video link online.

In her last question to the President, Ms. Davis asked how the President had been honoring his 2008 campaign promise to bring transparency to the White House, in light of certain recent examples to the contrary, including the administration's handling of the Benghazi incident.

The President pointed out to Ms. Davis that "This is the most transparent administration in history", and a short clip of this quote appeared last evening on Bret Baier's Fox News Special Report, and at online news sites (although those sites failed to identify the questioner as Ms. Davis).

The President went on to gently explain to Citizen Davis how national security issues sometimes affect transparency, and added:

"Benghazi, by the way is not a good example of that. That was largely driven by campaign stuff, because everything about that... we've had more testimony and more paper provided to Congress than ever before. And Congress is sort of running out of things to ask."

That response must have fully cleared up the Benghazi issue, because the moderator moved on to another citizen, without offering Citizen Davis an opportunity for a follow-up. Here is a video of Ms. Davis' question and the President's full response.

One of our loyal readers, Citizen Pete, who was monitoring the discussion live online, sent in his own follow-up question to the President, which he shared with PPPS.

Mr. President, first of all, I want to commend you on the restraint you used, and on the restraint of other officials in your administration, to successfully prevent what was clearly a bi-partisan issue of national security from becoming a partisan issue in the 2012 Presidential Campaign, as those on the far right and in the Tea Party wanted it to be. With your administration's focus on the more difficult problem of preventing the proliferation of insulting videos, you rose above partisan politics.

My question to you, sir, in light of the fact that on the evening of September 11, 2012, while the Benghazi Consulate was under attack, and the whereabouts of our Libyan Ambassador Chris Stevens was unaccounted for over a period of several hours, the American citizens still do not have an answer to this question: Where were YOU and what were you doing?

Unfortunately, Citizen Pete's emailed question was never asked. Perhaps a member of the White House Press Corpse will pose Pete's question at the next Presidential press conference.

At the beginning of the Google+ Hangout (minute 2:52 in the full session video), Citizen Davis asked a question about gun control. She pointed out that FBI crime statistics clearly show that the vast majority of gun violence is committed with handguns, not assault rifles, and then asked if the President wanted to ban handguns. 

The President responded by saying that he didn't want to ban handguns and that other programs he was proposing, such as increased background checks and other measures, would reduce gun violence, although he admitted that we could never do away with it completely. The President offered this more detailed goal:

"We're talking about making sure we're cracking down on straw purchases."

The President did not elaborate on whether he was proposing a new solution to "crack down" on straw gun purchases, or was planning to expand the existing government program nicknamed Fast and Furious.

We encourage our readers to view the entire enlightening question and answer session using this online link.

More information about Ms. Davis is available on her website and video channel.

Breaking: Could Kira Davis be an Administration plant?

It should be noted that there are some who question whether "so called" citizens who appear in video conferences or townhall meetings with the President could in fact be government employees or campaign workers placed there by the administration.

Our crack team of PPPS researchers has uncovered this official video from one year ago which suggests that "Citizen" Kira Davis may work for the U.S. State Department. Check back for updates as we continue to investigate this matter.