Are treaties normally negotiated in public? I don't recall Obama live tweeting any closed door talks with Putin--it's just not a good idea. You can't be frank when you have to worry about covering your ass to prevent attacks from every nutjob special interest group at home.
No. Every recent trade deal done by the US was initially negotiated in private. It is totally normal.
Initial negotiations are always private, even for domestic legislation. Just look at the $85 billion funding package that was just announced. Only two people--Patty Murray and Paul Ryan--worked on that, in private, before it was introduced to the rest of Congress.
People who are concerned about the substance of the TPP are campaigning against the very basics of the process itself. This is a bad tactic. Over time it will be very corrosive to the government's ability to do anything.
