Apple but no BlackBerry for President Obama

Davey Winder
Monday, 17 November 2008 15:51

IT Policy - Government Tech Policy

Barack Obama is facing change, big change, as he enters the White House in January. Could the Internet President have to do without his beloved BlackBerry in the no email zone that the office of US President has become?

The Obama Geek Test is evidence enough of just how seriously the new administration will be taking the small matter of Internet communications as far as the office of the 44th President of the United States of America is concerned.

This demands disclosure of any emails with the potential to cause a media feeding frenzy, along with copies of all blog postings made, for anyone applying for a senior job in the new administration.

We all know how much of a nerd Obama is, how he is hunting for a technology czar to guide strategy and policy.

But it looks like the first Internet President might get unwired as soon as he steps into office.

Barack Obama is faced with one of the most difficult decisions of his political career, one of the biggest changes so far. Barack Obama has to decide whether he keeps using his beloved BlackBerry or not.

Bush established something of a presidential precedent in making email out of bounds, adopting a lawyered up line of self-defence while in office. The reason being the Presidential Records Act which requires all emails and electronic communications to officially archived.

More to the point, it makes them disclosable and therefore potentially visible to just about anyone who wants a sneaky peek in the future. 

It's not all bad news for the Obama Geek though, he is likely to be the first President with a laptop on his desk and it could well be his adored Apple. Just as long as he does not do any emailing, blogging or IM sessions he should be OK.

What do you reckon, should Obama stick with his BlackBerry addiction or should he follow Bush with a 'no email while in office' policy? If the message of change really means anything, if the whole riding into the oval office on an Internet wave means anything, should Obama stay wired?