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The aim of open government is to take advantage of the know-how and entrepreneurial spirit of those outside government institutions to work together with those inside government to solve problems.

After Barack Obama won the 2008 presidential election, I was heartened to see him issue an Open Government Initiative on his first full day in office.

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.

After all, I have spent the better part of my adult life insisting that government be open... that government be accessible... and that government be held accountable to people who voted us into office.

Diplomacy is, perhaps, one element of the U.S. government that should not be subject to the demands of 'open government'; whenever it works, it is usually because it is done behind closed doors. But this may be increasingly hard to achieve in the age of Twittering bureaucrats.

Open political and economic systems have been gaining ground and there's a good reason for it. They work better.

We are united around a simple goal, and that is keeping the government open while protecting our constituents from the harmful effects of Obamacare.

An open society is a society which allows its members the greatest possible degree of freedom in pursuing their interests compatible with the interests of others.

What makes our country unique is its commitment to being open, to making its leaders accountable.

I will run an open government that speaks with honesty, seeks opinion, listens to its citizens.