Obama transition officials have reported that it is very unlikely that he will continue to carry his Blackberry while in office. This is mainly due to security issues. The data contained on most PDAs can be compromised with nominal effort, e-mail can potentially be monitored, and these devices are trackable.
I don't personally own a portable e-mail device, however many will attest to how addicting (and convenient) it can become to regularly check and manage one's e-mail: "Definitely he's going to feel an electronic detoxing," said Reed Dickens, former assistant press secretary to President George W. Bush. Users have even been referred to as "crackberry addicts". Obama's attachment to his PDA is illustrated by the following: "This past summer, news cameras recorded him checking his BlackBerry while watching his daughter's soccer game, only to have Michelle Obama slap at his hands, prompting him to return the device to its holster."
The other issue, less relevant to this course, is the possibility of a president's e-mail being subpoenaed and made public record: "The president's e-mail can be subpoenaed by Congress and courts and may be subject to public records laws, so if a president doesn't want his e-mail public, he shouldn't e-mail, experts said." E-mailing is just another channel for his words and personal communications to become public record; this must be taken into consideration. On this note, Presidents Bush and Clinton set a precedent by not e-mailing in office and it will ultimately be up to Obama to follow it or not.
I find it comforting to hear that PDA security is a priority for Obama and his officials. It may be a less-pressing concern, but definitely an important one.
http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5iw25dERohJoJUYwISzNoOsSd1VCwD94GBFTO0
Tuesday, November 18, 2008
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As we know, email can easily be hacked (see palin, sarah). I have a blackberry and is definetly addicting, it is really nice to be able to check your emails anywhere. I do like the idea though that president elect will be throwin his blackberry to the side. It shows in small way that he wants to put all of his focus into work and not have to think about his blackberry. I also found it interesting that email records can be subpoened and entered as public record and as the commander in chief it would be very embarressing to have his emails as part of the public record
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