Originally Posted by aceventura3

Perhaps I have not been clear.

Written information is important. Here is how I would prioritize it.

Written factual information is most important, i.e. dates, times, people in attendance at meetings, recorded minutes of meetings, etc.

Legal documents, rulings, findings of fact, judicial opinions are next or first depending on the issue.

"Spontaneous" writings are next of importance in my opinion.

Written opinions, interpretations of facts by decision makers is next.

Written opinion, interpretations of facts, etc by support staff and others is next.

(Understand that the above was written off of the top of my head, I am not an expert and I am sure if I gave the issue more thought the list would be more detailed and more thorough. If you want to overlook the point and focus on that aspect - I am not interested)

However, for example I don't think President Clinton should be forced to disclose the donor list for his Presidential Library. I think the donors should have a right to privacy as does the former President. If we suspect illegal activity we should take legal action to obtain the information. Otherwise, in my opinion, the historic relevance is the library, not the written list of donors. In fact I think people want to see the list for purely political reasons and are not concerned with history. I would argue the same point regarding much of the interest in Presidential documents.



You don't think this was a political issue from the beginning??? I think the only reason the bill was passed and signed was because of Nixon and a weak President Ford - at a time when the public was most distrustful of executive power.