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There are limits on what a president can achieve or do, but the expectations are so great.

I want to make it clear publicly that I expect more candor from this Administration during the next four years, particularly with members on the Foreign Relations Committee so that we can maintain a bipartisan foreign policy.

I believe transparency in government is key to restoring our nation's faith in its elected leaders.

The presidency is the most visible thread that runs through the tapestry of the American government. More often than not, for good or for ill, it sets the tone for the other branches and spurs the expectations of the people.

The American people expect more from Congress. They expect fiscal responsibility and common sense. They expect us to return to the pay-as-you-go budget rules that we had enacted in the past that helped us establish a surplus, however briefly.

The American people expect and deserve a government that works and leaders who work together.

Given the pervasive secrecy of the Bush-Cheney administration, and the sorry consequences of that disposition, President Barack Obama's early emphasis on openness in government seems almost inevitable.

In all my public and private acts as your president, I expect to follow my instincts of openness and candor with full confidence that honesty is always the best policy in the end.

In exchange for power, influence, command and a place in history, a president gives up the bulk of his privacy.

For me to do my job effectively, we need to continue to earn public confidence. That involves transparency and accountability.