Cheney should name advisers
Kansas City Star: Vice President Dick Cheney ought to be forthright with the American people and reveal who influenced him in developing the administration's pro-polluter energy policy.
A Supreme Court decision on whether Cheney must make the information public unfortunately won't come before the presidential election. That's too bad. It's suspected that the administration listened only to the energy industry from the beginning, perhaps including Ken Lay, former Enron chief. The public has the right to know who this administration relied on for critical advice.
At issue is Cheney's task force on energy. In what is billed as a major test case for how far presidential power goes, a lawsuit by the Sierra Club and others wants Cheney to reveal documents and participants in the task force work.
But the high court last Thursday said a lower court erred in dismissing the administration's attempts to keep the details secret and sent the case back for further review.
Eventually, what comes out could be startling information for those who care about the environment -- most of the country, according to polls. It would be better if they had that information before the election.
If there's nothing to hide, the administration should not hesitate to release the details.