Beyond the Dome

Here's another curious item from Barack Obama's town hall in Billings, Mont. last night. During a question-and-answer exchange on his health care overhaul plan, Obama promised to have the negotiations televised on C-SPAN to make the process as open as possible.

"I'm going to do it on C-SPAN," Obama said. "We're going to do it publicly, so that you can watch to see, what is your congressman doing? What is your senator doing? Are your representatives looking after your interests when it comes to health care?"

It's not the first time Obama has promised this. He has brought up the C-SPAN idea several times on the campaign trail, as part of his commitment to open government. He even got Hillary Rodham Clinton to make a similar commitment during a debate in January -- exactly the kind of openness she didn't show during her 1993 health care overhaul effort.

The thing is, it wouldn't be Obama's decision. As a private, non-profit organization funded by cable and satellite fees, C-SPAN would get to decide whether to cover Obama's health care negotiations.

As a practical matter, it might want to do so anyway.

"Obviously, any time a president has a forum on an issue that affects millions of Americans, there's going to be heightened interest," said C-SPAN spokesman John Cardarelli. But "our editorial decision are made independent of Congress and the president. That's what makes C-SPAN special."