Red Hat CEO Jim Whitehurst issued a statement on Monday applauding President Obama for bringing a culture of openness and participatory governance to the White House. According to Whitehurst, the Obama administration’s commitment to transparency and inclusiveness reflects the same values that are found at the core of the community-driven open source software development model. He cites Republican media consultant Alex Castellanos, who recently described Obama as an “open source” president during a CNN segment.

Predictably, Whitehurst also takes the opportunity to encourage broader government adoption of open source software and open standards. He contends that the federal government has already saved a considerable sum of money by using open source technology and he suggests that millions more could be saved by expanding the government’s open source strategy.

Red Hat CEO praises Obama openness, calls for ODF adoption – Ars Technica

Red Hat’s CEO, in a blog post on Monday, is endorsing the Obama Administration’s call for openness and participation in government by likening the President’s statement to the open source software movement.

Linking to a White House statement in which President Obama calls for transparency, participation, and collaboration in government, Red Hat president/CEO Jim Whitehurst said open source provides an answer to calls for transparency and participation.

Red Hat CEO seeks open source in government – Network World

Last week, several big names in open source tossed a letter at American President Barack Obama, urging him to mandate that no government IT purchase be made without someone scrutinizing the software license. “Dear President Obama,” it read, “please consider open source.”

The letter contained all the classic elements of an open source group hug: freedom, interoperability, community, and transparency. This letter was signed by higher-ups at companies we know and love, like Red Hat, Novell, Unisys, and a handful of other smaller players who want to suckle from the teat of a federal contract.

Dear Obama: Please consider open-source a waste of your time | The Register

Since no one has been named to the position yet and no nomination is imminent, you can expect plenty more speculation about who’s to fill this first-of-its-kind cabinet position. There’s little question in my mind that open source and especially open data interchange formats are a smart idea for government work, especially since other countries are getting wise to the idea.

Open Source In Obama’s Tech Agenda | Open Source Blog | InformationWeek