Here’s a possible object lesson for the new Obama Administration. Canada’s Democracy Watch says their  federal government gets a D grade this year for transparency and democratic reform, principally because it hasn’t acted on 27 changes it promised, even though the Harper government has strengthened or tried to strengthen accountability in a number of areas. The report says the government could have earned a B grade had it implemented all the reforms promised in the 2006 election campaign but they have left a lot of loopholes that hurt accountability and transparency. They call for a tougher accountability act.