Unbiased Census Bureau??

A very interesting article from http://www.newsbusters.org/ about Barack Obama trying to control the 2010 Census!!

Only Fox News Concerned With Obama's Census Bureau Coup

By Noel Sheppard (Bio Archive)February 7, 2009 - 15:24 ET


The Obama administration revealed Thursday that whoever ends up being director of the Census Bureau, a position yet to be filled, he or she will be required to work closely with the White House.
This is a departure from the autonomy the Bureau had under President Bush, and is worrisome given the census which will be taken next year.
Despite this revelation by Congressional Quarterly on Thursday the only major media outlet which gave this much attention was Fox News.
Before we get there, here's what CQ reported:

The Obama administration acknowledged Thursday that the as-yet-unnamed Census Bureau director will have a direct line to the White House but sought to define the relationship as one in which the director would “work closely with” rather than report to President Obama’s senior staff.
After black and Hispanic leaders raised concerns over Commerce Secretary-nominee Judd Gregg ’s commitment to core functions of the Census Bureau, a senior White House official told CQ on Wednesday that the director would report directly to the White House.
That brought fire Thursday from Republicans, who accused the White House of attempting to gain advantage in the politically delicate process of counting Americans and of violating the law by circumventing the Commerce secretary. The decennial census is used to determine the apportionment of congressional districts among the states and federal funding for numerous programs. [...]
House Republicans are incensed about the prospect of the Census Bureau director reporting directly to the White House staff, which is led by former Rep. Rahm Emanuel (2003-09), a longtime political operative and onetime chairman of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee.
“Any attempt by the Obama administration to circumvent the census process for their political benefit will be met with fierce opposition as this ill-conceived proposal undermines a constitutionally obligated process that speaks to the very heart of our democracy,” said California Rep. Darrell Issa , the top Republican on the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee.
Issa and North Carolina Rep. Patrick McHenry, the top Republican on the subcommittee that oversees census issues, sent a letter to Obama detailing their concern that such a move might circumvent existing law and be used for partisan gain.
“Requiring the census director to report directly to the White House and placing responsibility for administration of the Bureau outside the Department of Commerce may even violate federal law,” they wrote. “According to Title 13 of the U.S. Code, the Bureau is to be administered ‘within, and under the jurisdiction of, the Department of Commerce.’ ” [...]
“The constitutionally mandated decennial census needs to be fair, accurate and trusted. By circumventing the secretary of Commerce’s oversight of the Census Bureau and handing it directly to a political operative such as Mr. Emanuel, you are severely jeopardizing the fairness and accuracy of the 2010 census,” Issa and McHenry wrote.

Seems like big news, right? Apparently not, as from what I can tell, the New York Times completely ignored it. Ditto USA Today. The Washington Post published a couple of paragraphs about it at the end of an unrelated piece on page A15 Friday.

story continues here http://newsbusters.org/blogs/noel-sheppard/2009/02/07/only-fox-news-concerned-obamas-census-bureau-coup