Obama may no longer get to Barack the Blackberry
Barack Obama is rarely seen on the campaign trail without his Blackberry on his hip, using it to stay in touch with friends, family and advisers, to stay on top of news as it happens, to proofread speeches and more. That may have to change when he takes office in January, however. No sitting president has yet to have a cell phone, PDA, smart phone or laptop in use due to concerns about legal matters and national security issues.
Obama has made it plain he hopes to be the first president to have a laptop in the Oval Office, and his agenda is clearly one that supports a technology-fueled presidency, economy and nation. Whether or not he will make the first change to the presidency by NOT giving up his Blackberry remains to be seen. On one hand, a president’s communications to the outside word are subject to legalities above and beyond those most citizens face. On the other hand, someone is going to have to break new ground in technology in the Oval Office, so why not now, with a president that clearly understands the medium and all of its risks?
President George W Bush, contrary to popular assumption, was an active emailer before taking office. He sent out a sad last email eight years ago to his friends and family sating that he would no longer be emailing them: “Since I do not want my private conversations looked at by those out to embarrass, the only course of action is not to correspond in cyberspace. This saddens me. I have enjoyed conversing with each of you.” Will Obama be forced by an antiquated bureaucracy to send a similar last missive? I, for one, hope not.
One of many keys to Obama’s success has been the ability to nimbly utilize technology to implement decisions quickly and decisively. I’d hate to see bureaucratic fear and red tape change that. I think it would be to our detriment as a nation to hobble the abilities of our President-elect when he enters office. I’d rather see this as an opportunity to effect real change from the top down, and position our country as innovative and forward thinking, in tandem with having a new, forward thinking president entering office.
Related Posts:
November 17th, 2008
Similar issues apply in state government. On account of Open Records Acts, state governments are wise to insist that employees (including governors) route all business e-mail through a central e-mail archive and to encourage employees to take all personal e-mail to personal accounts. –Ben