An archivist picked in secret does not inspire confidence

There is a certain irony in pursuing the selection of a new national archivist in secret, but that irony is apparently lost on the Bush administration.
The archivist's job, after all, is to protect the public record, especially the papers that are amassed by presidents, which will be needed by generations to come in writing and interpreting the history of the nation.
Choosing a national archivist should be about as straightforward an affair as can be found in Washington.
Yet on April 8, President Bush nominated historian Allen Weinstein to be the head of the National Archives and did so without the customary consultation with professional societies of archivists and historians. That action clearly runs counter to congressional intent. A House report accompanying the 1984 law that established the National Archives as an independent agency, said Congress expected archivist nominations to be made through consultation with & quot;recognized organizations of professional archivists and historians. & quot;
First in 20 years
The Society of American Archivists and eight other historical and archival groups said in an Internet posting last week that this is the first time since 1984 that outside experts were not consulted before the White House nominated a new national archivist.
The manner in which Weinstein was chosen has raised questions about whether the Bush administration took action to hasten the departure of John Carlin, whom President Clinton had appointed archivist in 1995 and who had publicly expressed his intention of serving his full 10-year term, leaving on his 65th birthday next summer.
The national archivist is appointed by the president, subject to Senate ratification, but, in another effort to assure political independence, the archivist's term was set at 10 years -- a length that that guaranteed an archivist's term would bridge at least two presidents, and possibly three.
Carlin's leaving and Weinstein's proposed ascension might not be raising eyebrows except that early in his administration, President Bush showed an interest in closing off public access to presidential papers. In November 2001, Bush issued an executive order in which he gave himself broad powers to control the release of papers from the libraries of presidents Reagan, Bush senior and Clinton.
He also extended the power to censor to former presidents, vice presidents and their designated representatives. Previously, the law required the automatic release of papers 12 years after a president left office. Papers could be withheld, but the presidential library, which answers to the archivist, had to justify doing so. Bush's order put the burden of proving that a document should be declassified on the researcher, a real obstacle.
9/11 connection
And this year, the White House initially refused to turn over the bulk of 11,000 pages of records the 9/11 commission requested from the Clinton library before relenting. That's instructive, because the archivist will be taking control of all the 9/11 commission's records later this year. There's reason to be concerned about how public access to those records will be controlled by an archivist hand-picked by a president who has had a long-term love affair with secrecy.
Weinstein has sought to diffuse the controversy. "The National Archives, as far as I am concerned, works for the American people and is not a creature of an administration, & quot; he told a reporter.
That's a fine sentiment, but not one reflected by the administration's actions in arriving at Weinstein's nomination.
The Senate should take its ratification responsibilities seriously and should investigate thoroughly Weinstein's fitness for the job and the circumstances under which Carlin decided to resign his post before his term expired.