On the Limits of Transparency

In the age of social media and Wikileaks, former Governor David Patterson provides insight into the realities of governing versus campaigning and the limitations of transparency, showing, once again, that Life isn't all Black and White -- there are more than 50 shades of grey:

From City and State 's Heard Around Town --

*  On Fred Dicker's radio show yesterday former Gov. David Paterson defended Gov. Andrew Cuomo against charges his administration lacks transparency, saying that criticism of the all-night Albany session that led to the passage of the pension plan (among other things) was unstudied, and ignores the messy realities of policy-making. Paterson underscored the point with a sort-of brutal reference. "I was watching the Ken Burns World War II episode," Paterson said.  "It was clear that solders were left on the field to die. If the army had given up its position on parts of the field, other people may have gotten killed," he said, likening Cuomo's strategy this legislative session to that of a war commander, in this instance, General Dwight D. Eisenhower.  "Everything can't be squeaky clean, tied up in a bow and perfect. The good is not the enemy of the perfect. What Andrew Cuomo has been able to accomplish has been great, but it has not been perfect. Transparency can be as bad as good sometimes," Paterson said.