White House of mirrors

George W. Bush has turned the executive branch into a two-way mirror. They get to see everything Americans do: our telephone calls, e-mail, and all manner of personal information. And we get to see nothing about what they do.

Everyone knows this administration has disdained openness and accountability since its first days. That is about the only thing it does not hide. But recent weeks have produced disturbing disclosures about just how far Bush's team is willing to go to keep lawmakers and the public in the dark.

That applies to big issues - like the CIA's secret prisons

it used the Patriot Act to snoop on domestic phone calls, e-mail and financial transactions of ordinary people

Gonzales was not protecting anybody's rights or America's reputation

refused to say whether the United States had ever sent a prisoner to another country knowing he would be tortured.

still stonewalling about the existence of CIA prisons.