The Project On Government Oversight (POGO) has a list of 10 questions for the 2012 candidates about gov't transparency, in nice simple language suitable for 30-second timeslots. I hope some reporters pick these up, because I'd love to see either real answers (which I don't expect) or the dodges they'll inspire.

10 Questions for the 2012 Candidates
1. How will you make it easy for me to know as much as possible about what you and other government officials are doing on my behalf?

2. How will you make it easy to tell who is influencing government policies?

3. How will you make it easy to tell who is influencing elections?

4. How will you protect federal workers who lawfully expose waste, fraud, abuse, and illegality?

5. How will you make sure reporters and publishers can pursue critical stories without risk of subpoenas, prosecutions, or intimidation?

6. Do you believe there is too much government secrecy, and if so, how will you fix it?

7. How will you protect my rights while also protecting national security?

8. How will you make sure that I have the same ability to receive government records under FOIA as people with access to lawyers?

9. What kind of commitments do you think you and others ought to make to ensure public service isn't used for private gain?

10. How will you help the public keep tabs on federal spending, including here in my hometown?