So Barack Obama wants to talk transparency. Question is, do any other politicians?

Iowa Gov. Chet Culver and Lt. Gov. Patty Judge are taking a step in doing so, recently announcing their intention to use their state e-mail accounts. They have, for their first two years in office, favored their own private accounts, which are more protected from the grasp of Iowa’s open records laws.

In the past, Culver justified his use of a private e-mail account because of a law forbidding state e-mail accounts to be used for political or personal purposes. Because he’s so constantly wired, he argued, to distinguish among state, political and personal business would cost too much time and cause too many headaches.

However, following Associated Press inquiries into the matter, including a public-records request last Thursday for Culver and Judge’s private e-mails, Culver changed his tune. A spokesperson for the governor has said a single event has not brought about the change of heart.

As journalists, we’re naturally happy to see the change in policy. But as citizens, we’re even more glad. State business needs to be done in the light of day. This isn’t going to fix all the problems that exist, but it’s a great place to start.