Wise citizens are generally skeptical of things said by politicians because they invariably tell us only what makes them look good. The country was thus blessed when Bill of Rights author James Madison, whose birthday was Tuesday, enshrined freedom of the press among the four core liberties protected by the First Amendment. Madison knew that only an independent press could get “the rest of the story” and help citizens make informed decisions. So, while the Freedom of Information Act, or FOIA, isn’t much celebrated outside America’s newsrooms, there can be no doubt of its singular importance.

President Obama spoke often and strongly during his presidential campaign about the need for greater transparency and accountability in government. Though this page has been tough on Obama on most other issues, we have vigorously applauded him when he’s made genuine progress on these fronts. It being Sunshine Week, it’s no surprise that yesterday Norm Eisen, the president’s chief spokesman on these issues, posted on the White House blog a lengthy list of what he views as the administration’s transparency successes during the past year. You can read Eisen’s blog post at: whitehouse.gov/blog/2010/03/15/sunshine-over-washington-dc.