Obama Continuing Fight To Keep Blackberry

Amid all the action leading up to Obama's inauguration it is easy to forget that there is still an issue very close to the President-Elect's heart that has yet to be resolved: that of the fate of his BlackBerry.

Speaking with CNBC Wednesday, Obama explained that he is still fighting to hold onto the device despite the sea of lawyers who have warned him against keeping it.

I'm still clinging to my BlackBerry. They're going to pry it out of my hands.[...]

I don't know that I'll win, but I'm still--I'm still fighting it. And--but here's the point I was making, I guess, is that it's not just the flow of information. I mean, I can get somebody to print out clips for me, and I can read newspapers. What it has to do with is having mechanisms where you are interacting with people who are outside of the White House in a meaningful way. And I've got to look for every opportunity to do that--ways that aren't scripted, ways that aren't controlled, ways where, you know, people aren't just complimenting you or standing up when you enter into a room, ways of staying grounded.

Comments

[Semper]

10:13 PM on 01/15/2009

Actually, the blackberry is like the phone. Obama is a modern President. I hope he gets to keep his blackberry.

[skitzindy]

10:06 PM on 01/09/2009

We all have to give up things in life................... Did Obama think he would become exempt from EVERYTHING just because he is President................. Hope this doesn't become a race issue.......... I'm sure that's what everything will be for the next four years...........at leat

[princessofnowt]

11:31 AM on 01/09/2009

I dont know.. Ever since we let them have electricity at the white house it's never been the same.

[MagisterLudi]

08:38 PM on 01/08/2009

The primary issue is the security of data which passes through Presidential hands.
American government approved the use of BBs for "Sensitive but Unclassified" info ONLY.
Much of what that passes through President's hands is above that level of security.
In would be ridiculous to jeopardize national security because this guy has an infantile attachment to a gadget. Especially in view of his total lack of experience in governing and high level security procedures. Maybe in a year or so, they can give him a BB to play with on his B-day. Gosh ....Fun...fun....

[MaximMaximus]

11:43 PM on 01/08/2009

Try make sense! President-elect Obama expressed no interest in conducting government business on his Blackberry. He said, I wants to keep it to be in touch with the American people using his Blackberry. Big difference! By the way, US Senators do have security clearance. In fact, they do get an intelligence briefing on a weekly basis, and may request more information on any given matter as they see fit. And since he has served in the Foreign Relations Committee, his clearance might be even a notch higher. Also, US Senators are involved in governing-they do it collectively.

[Liberoservative]

08:35 PM on 01/08/2009

He wants to have a computer on his desk in the Oval Office, too.....

I hope that they "let" him have that, at least.....

If we have the smartest technos in the world, I have a hard time believing that we can't come up with a secure system to allow our administration the convenience of modern technology.

[kellygrrrl]

06:49 PM on 01/08/2009

OhMahGawd! He's trying to smuggle in that TerroristCommunicationDevice

[Zenzelae]

04:30 PM on 01/08/2009

PE Obama is the people's President. If man can fly to the moon, surely they can figure out a way to make the people's president available to the people. If not then the people will have to hire a secretary for him (one he trusts) to relay the messages and keep him updated on a 247 basis.

[joycehelene]

04:13 PM on 01/08/2009

I hope you win Mr. President !!!

[Madhyamika]

04:10 PM on 01/08/2009

Do the legal and security issues around PE Obama's Blackberry also apply to Michelle Obama and the girls? Can't the Barack Obama text Michelle Obama and the girls? Does a president lose all privacy protection of his correspondences?

[ldsw]

04:07 PM on 01/08/2009

The security folks are concerned probably that Obama's Blackberry will become a tracking device. A technologically savvy operative might find a way to intercept the wireless signal from incoming and outgoing calls on the Blackberry to provide a pinpoint or approximate location of Obama's whereabouts.

I've heard no one else mention this angle, so I'll throw it out there since it's the one reason that makes sense to me.

[mynameismimi]

06:58 PM on 01/08/2009

You are correct. This is precisely the reason why it is a problem. It's a real conundrum, because the President-elect has good reasons for keeping it. I don't know if the technology that will allow him to keep it without putting himself in jeopardy exists.

[Coinyer101]

03:46 PM on 01/08/2009

you the President. Tell 'em to stick it in their ears.

[anewdayinDC]

03:17 PM on 01/08/2009

They keep announcing where they are staying before he gets sworn in - But his Blackberry is a security risk?!

[Soundofthunder]

02:37 PM on 01/08/2009

I'm still not seeing how a Blackberry is a security risk. He's the president, in 12 days, so it's not like his location at anyone time is a big secret. He's the guy with the large entourage of gunsels talking into their sleeves. Besides, if there's a danger of tracking him via his BB, TURN IT OFF.

SOT

[SabrinaFair]

02:12 PM on 01/08/2009

Why not let him keep his BlackBerry just for personal communications with his wife and children and not for government business?

Surely there can't be any harm in that.

[LittleTart]

01:43 PM on 01/08/2009

Let the man keep his freakin' Blackberry!

[chirps]

02:01 PM on 01/08/2009

Yup. Makes sense.