Transparency is not transparent -- what does it mean?

W.P. Cresson credits (James Monroe 1946) early government transparency efforts to the defensiveness of elected officials. After Jackson's incursion into Spanish Florida, some questioned whether President Monroe had authorized this seeming act of war, which he had not. "Seeking public sanction of his conduct as Chief Executive, Monroe determined to place before Congress a full explanation of all that had occurred, together with all papers relevant to the affair." He also instructed his attorney general, William Wirt, to write an article for the National Intelligencer "explaining to the American people just what had happened and defending the administration."
In contrast, the transparency required under the current president's stimulus act is proactive -- tell people about your decisions as your making them, not after; explain your goals when you set out, not when you arrive; provide information in a useable, not overwhelming, way.