Prospective White House employees must cough up an unprecedented amount of detail

[not_too_L8]

Is this smart? It may prevent Obama's administration from being blind sided but it can also lend fuel to the blowhards fire.

snip/

In 63 questions over seven pages, prospective White House employees are being asked — in addition to questions about finances, gun ownership and, possibly, flossing habits — to list “all aliases or ‘handles’ you have used to communicate on the Internet,” everything they’ve written, “including, but not limited to, any posts or comments on blogs or other websites,” links to their Facebook or MySpace pages and any potentially embarrassing “electronic communication, including but not limited to an email, text message or instant message.”

Three, two, one, controversy! “Mr. Obama has elevated the vetting even beyond what might have been expected,” declared the New York Times on Nov. 13. TV commentators, giddy with White House puppy speculation only hours earlier, expressed concern. The words “intrusive” and “most extensive” were frequently used. Rachel Maddow raised her first eyebrow at the new administration. In a commentary on ABCNews.com, Sam Donaldson wondered if Obama would pass his own vetting (citing question 20, about association with controversial characters).

http://www.salon.com/mwt/feature/2008/11/24/online_privacy/

[Kdillard]

1. I don't blame them for being thorough. It will prevent people

with things to hide from even trying and they will be prepared for anything minor that may come up.