Obama refuses to surrender Blackberry
WASHINGTON —
Despite legal and security hurdles, president-elect Barack Obama says he has a plan to retain his beloved Blackberry once he moves into the White House next week.
Interviewed by CNN, Obama said the smartphone was among the tools that he would use to stay in touch with real Americans and avoid becoming trapped inside the presidential “bubble.”
“I think we’re going to be able to hang on to one of these. My working assumption, and this is not new, is that anything I write on an email could end up being on CNN,” he said.
“So I make sure to think before I press ‘send’,” he said of his Blackberry, which was an ever-present fixture on his belt or in his hand on the campaign trail.
Obama did not divulge just how he will overcome legal constraints, given the requirement of the post-Watergate Presidential Records Act of 1978 to keep a record of every White House communication.
Nor did he say how he would persuade his Secret Service protectors that the Blackberry does not pose a security risk, for instance if it is hacked over the air.
But Obama said the phone was a valuable part of a wider strategy to escape the White House fishbowl.
“It’s just one tool among a number of tools that I’m trying to use, to break out of the bubble, to make sure that people can still reach me,” he said.
“If I’m doing something stupid, somebody in Chicago can send me an email and say, ‘What are you doing?’
“I want to be able to have voices, other than the people who are immediately working for me, be able to reach out and send me a message about what’s happening in America.”
The mobile device dilemma may have inadvertently been solved on Friday, as Obama’s Blackberry tumbled from his belt as he got out of his limousine and onto his plane in Washington.
A Secret Service agent hurried to pick up the pieces, gathering the Blackberry and battery off the frigid tarmac.
Wire reports
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22 Comments
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0
SezWho2
There's no point in keeping a record of every White House communication if they aren't available for inspection.
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Wolfpack
He's got to have his Blackberry. How else can he stay in touch with Rev. Wright and Ayers?
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rajakumar
Escape the from White house fishbowl type of presidency to start via Obama.
Blackberries, and may be other new tech, high tech communications devices, to be tools to usher in new high emails messaging flow presidency.
No need for the old obsolete tech ways in communications with presidency. Way to go.
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SezWho2
Wolfpack,
If it weren't for raging bigots he could just pick up the phone.
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OssanAmerica
Don't they have an official "presidential blackberry" for him to use?
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sensei258
I'm no "techie", but couldn't somebody hack his Blackberry and listen in on what he's doing?
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wuzzademcrat
"If it weren't for raging bigots he could just pick up the phone."
Why pick up the phone when you can do what you please and your supporters will cry racism when opposition arises?
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bushlover
I can see his blackberry being his downfall. Someone will spam him and he'll pee someone else off. Maybe a hacker will send fake information from his unit to incriminate him in something. Well take you chance Osama.
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smithinjapan
Well, good on him for wanting to take it a step up from Bush's 1950's "in your living room" broadcasts, but it could present a number of problems. First and foremost is the hacking issue.... hell, people hacked in Paris Hilton's blackberry and stole all her contact info, etc. Just imagine the crap Obama might have on his, and the field day people could have with it. There is no doubt in my mind some will successfully hack into it, so he best keep what he has on it and what he does with it limited.
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SushiSake3
If Obama is allowed to keep his blackberry, I don't think anyone thinks for a moment that the device isn't going to have the best anti-hacking protection on the planet.
That said, that's not to say criminal elements in the Republican party won't attempt to hack into the blackberry of the president who, to their teeth-gnashing fury, is just a better man than their failed fratboy bUsH.
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Taka313
Better yet, why pick up the phone when you can do what you please and claim it's to keep us safe from the terrorists.
Taka
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SushiSake3
Taka, well said. I refuse to be brainwashed by bushspeak.
Can't say the same about the common elements of the Republican party. :-)
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SuperLib
Well said. We should make sure that articles about Obama and his Blackberry don't distract us from our war on Bush and Republicans overall.
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SuperLib
....but overall I think it's cool he's going to keep it.... ;)
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SezWho2
It appears that we can count on the opposition to bring up racism--and to avoid the question.
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SushiSake3
Superlib - "We should make sure that articles about Obama and his Blackberry don't distract us from our war on Bush and Republicans overall."
We've already won that War On Failure.
By the way, thanks for voting Obama. I'm sure he appreciated it. :-)
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SuperLib
You're welcome. If you were an American then you could have voted for him, too. And no, I'm not trying to rub salt into that wound.
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cwhite
just set up a secure email server for his BB so he can push email through. Airwaves can be monitored and encrypted. Hell, they can pay to design a new secure BB and iPhone for VIP use.
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smithinjapan
"If you were an American then you could have voted for him, too. And no, I'm not trying to rub salt into that wound."
Hahaha... a 'wound' is an injury -- bad for the body. Not being an American is neither. Glad you think it's cool he's keeping it, though.
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USARonin
USAFdude says Obama will use his Blackberry to finally capture Bin Laden. Not shameful.
Go for it.
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wuzzademcrat
Interviewed by CNN, Obama said the smartphone was among the tools that he would use to stay in touch with real Americans and avoid becoming trapped inside the presidential “bubble.”
The best tool to keep his tools "informed."
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Sarge
"the smartphone was among the tools that he would use to stay in touch with real Americans"
Heaven forbid actually talking to real Americans face to face.
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