Why Do Public Officials Need Privacy?
Michael D. McCaffrey – Yarmouthport, Mass. It seems sad and ridiculous that the role of secrets in an open and democratic government should be the subject of so much thinking, writing and debate. As a much younger man, I recall reading endless columns and editorial opinions about the Nixon White House’s care and handling of executive privilege. Because of its powers as a soporific, I can barely recall what they were fighting about. Something is wrong if advisers must be guaranteed eternal privacy if they are to tell the truth. They should be guaranteed dismissal if they don’t tell the truth.
