NOOO! Not my Blackberry! Ah, what a sacrifice to serve as a Leader of the Free World! DAMN! Actually, I can see their point...but I think that it still would be nice for him to continue to keep a pulse on the technology, particularly the Internet, which was definitely a key in his winning his campaign.
~ "Where love and magic meet" ~ http://www.adriannebrennan.com Take a bite out of Blood and Mint Chocolates: http://www.adriannebrennan.com/bamc.html Experience the magic of Blood of the Dark Moon on 12/2: http://www.adriannebrennan.com/botdm.html On Sun, Nov 16, 2008 at 2:56 PM, ravenadal <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > This is why I don't wanna be President. I want the best job in the > free world: Ex-President of the United States. Do what you want, > clear a million large(not counting speaking engagements and book > contracts), and everybody still refers to you as "Mr. President." > > ~rave! > > http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/16/us/politics/16blackberry.html? > no_interstitial > > November 16, 2008 > Lose the BlackBerry? Yes He Can, Maybe > > By JEFF ZELENY > > WASHINGTON — Sorry, Mr. President. Please surrender your BlackBerry. > > Those are seven words President-elect Barack Obama is dreading but > expecting to hear, friends and advisers say, when he takes office in > 65 days. > > For years, like legions of other professionals, Mr. Obama has been all > but addicted to his BlackBerry. The device has rarely been far from > his side — on most days, it was fastened to his belt — to provide a > singular conduit to the outside world as the bubble around him grew > tighter and tighter throughout his campaign. > > "How about that?" Mr. Obama replied to a friend's congratulatory e- > mail message on the night of his victory. > > But before he arrives at the White House, he will probably be forced > to sign off. In addition to concerns about e-mail security, he faces > the Presidential Records Act, which puts his correspondence in the > official record and ultimately up for public review, and the threat of > subpoenas. A decision has not been made on whether he could become the > first e-mailing president, but aides said that seemed doubtful. > > For all the perquisites and power afforded the president, the chief > executive of the United States is essentially deprived by law and by > culture of some of the very tools that other chief executives depend > on to survive and to thrive. Mr. Obama, however, seems intent on > pulling the office at least partly into the 21st century on that > score; aides said he hopes to have a laptop computer on his desk in > the Oval Office, making him the first American president to do so. > > Mr. Obama has not sent a farewell dispatch from the personal e-mail > account he uses — he has not changed his address in years — but > friends say the frequency of correspondence has diminished. In recent > days, though, he has been seen typing his thoughts on transition > matters and other items on his BlackBerry, bypassing, at least > temporarily, the bureaucracy that is quickly encircling him. > > A year ago, when many Democratic contributors and other observers were > worried about his prospects against Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton, > they reached out to him directly. Mr. Obama had changed his cellphone > number, so e-mail remained the most reliable way of communicating > directly with him. > > "His BlackBerry was constantly crackling with e-mails," said David > Axelrod, the campaign's chief strategist. "People were generous with > their advice — much of it conflicting." > > Mr. Obama is the second president to grapple with the idea of this > self-imposed isolation. Three days before his first inauguration, > George W. Bush sent a message to 42 friends and relatives that > explained his predicament. > > "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," Mr. Bush wrote from his old address, [EMAIL PROTECTED] "This > saddens me. I have enjoyed conversing with each of you." > > But in the interceding eight years, as BlackBerrys have become > ubiquitous — and often less intrusive than a telephone, the volume of > e-mail has multiplied and the role of technology has matured. Mr. > Obama used e-mail to stay in constant touch with friends from the > lonely confines of the road, often sending messages like "Sox!" when > the Chicago White Sox won a game. He also relied on e-mail to keep > abreast of the rapid whirl of events on a given campaign day. > > Mr. Obama's memorandums and briefing books were seldom printed out and > delivered to his house or hotel room, aides said. They were simply > sent to his BlackBerry for his review. If a document was too long, he > would read and respond from his laptop computer, often putting his > editing changes in red type. > > His messages to advisers and friends, they say, are generally crisp, > properly spelled and free of symbols or emoticons. The time stamps > provided a window into how much he was sleeping on a given night, with > messages often being sent to staff members at 1 a.m. or as late as 3 > a.m. if he was working on an important speech. > > He received a scaled-down list of news clippings, with his advisers > wanting to keep him from reading blogs and news updates all day long, > yet aides said he still seemed to hear about nearly everything in real > time. A network of friends — some from college, others from Chicago > and various chapters in his life — promised to keep him plugged in. > > Not having such a ready line to that network, staff members who spent > countless hours with him say, is likely to be a challenge. > > "Given how important it is for him to get unfiltered information from > as many sources as possible, I can imagine he will miss that freedom," > said Linda Douglass, a senior adviser who traveled with the campaign. > > Mr. Obama has, for at least brief moments, been forced offline. As he > sat down with a small circle of advisers to prepare for debates with > Senator John McCain, one rule was quickly established: No BlackBerrys. > Mr. Axelrod ordered everyone to put their devices in the center of a > table during work sessions. Mr. Obama, who was known to sneak a peek > at his, was no exception. > > In the closing stages of the campaign, as exhaustion set in and the > workload increased, aides said Mr. Obama spent more time reading than > responding to messages. As his team prepares a final judgment on > whether he can keep using e-mail, perhaps even in a read-only fashion, > several authorities in presidential communication said they believed > it was highly unlikely that he would be able to do so. > > Diana Owen, who leads the American Studies program at Georgetown > University, said presidents were not advised to use e-mail because of > security risks and fear that messages could be intercepted. > > "They could come up with some bulletproof way of protecting his e-mail > and digital correspondence, but anything can be hacked," said Ms. > Owen, who has studied how presidents communicate in the Internet era. > "The nature of the president's job is that others can use e-mail for > him." > > She added: "It's a time burner. It might be easier for him to say, `I > can't be on e-mail.' " > > Should Mr. Obama want to break ground and become the first president > to fire off e-mail messages from the West Wing and wherever he > travels, he could turn to Al Gore as a model. In the later years of > his vice presidency, Democrats said, Mr. Gore used a government e-mail > address and a campaign address in his race against Mr. Bush. > > The president, though, faces far greater public scrutiny. And even if > he does not wear a BlackBerry on his belt or carry a cellphone in his > pocket, he almost certainly will not lack from a variety of new > communication. > > On Saturday, as Mr. Obama broadcast the weekly Democratic radio > address, it came with a twist. For the first time, it was also > videotaped and will be archived on YouTube. > > > > > ------------------------------------ > > Yahoo! Groups Links > > > >
