The White House got scientific Wednesday in trying to explain why question and answer sessions between President Obama and major donors are kept private.
“I think [it’s] the Heisenberg Principle — the fact that someone observing something changes what is actually being observed,” White House press secretary Josh Earnest told reporters. “And I think that’s what is in play when you have a relatively small group of individuals who are seeking to have a conversation with the president of the United States … in a relatively private setting.”
Not to get too geeky, but Earnest likely meant the Hawthorne effect, or the observer effect, which states that people change their behavior if they are being watched.
Under White House policy, reporters are often allowed to view the president’s introductory remarks but are forced to leave the room once he takes questions from donors.
The White House insists that such guidelines ensure the president is meeting his pledge to run the “most transparent administration in history.”
