Obama may have to face BlackBerry withdrawal
Toby Harnden, National Post
Published: Monday, November 17, 2008

  • WASHINGTON - Presidentelect Barack Obama, the first truly computer-literate U. S. leader, might have to give up his BlackBerry over concerns about e-mail security and the Presidential Records Act, which requires all his correspondence to be put on the official record.

    During his campaign, Mr. Obama made unprecedented use of the Internet to organize his network of grassroots supporters, raise money and communicate with his staff. He was seldom without his BlackBerry -- often strapped to his waist -- which he would tap away on in his limousine or at the front of his plane.

    Advisors are afraid the handheld device could be compromised by hackers and will also put Mr. Obama at the mercy of public scrutiny rules. Similar concerns forced George W. Bush to stop e-mailing.

    According to The New York Times, Mr. Obama has not changed his e-mail address in years. On election night, he replied to a friend's congratulatory e-mail with: "How about that?" On other occasions he would send messages like "Sox!" when the Chicago White Sox won. His e-mails were generally brief, correctly spelt and punctuated and unadorned by such abbreviations as "LOL" or smiley-faced emoticons.

    Mr. Obama has made it clear that he intends to be the first president to have a laptop on his desk, currently the Resolute desk presented by Queen Victoria in 1880. One possibility is that he could keep in touch by receiving read-only e-mails, to which he could respond by phone.

    Yesterday, Mr. Obama resigned his seat in the Senate to focus on his transition to the White House, appointing new staff and thanking his home state of Illinois for launching his political career.

    "Today, I am ending one journey to begin another," he said.

    He announced three more additions to his White House team, making his top aide from the Senate a senior advisor and naming two deputies to chief of staff Rahm Emanuel.

    Mr. Obama's transition office said in a statement that Pete Rouse, who led Mr. Obama's staff as an Illinois Senator, would join the White House as a senior advisor.

    Mr. Rouse worked for former Senate Democratic leader Tom Daschle for 19 years. Mr. Daschle, a former South Dakota senator, advised Mr. Obama during his presidential campaign and is thought to be in contention for a top post in the new administration.

    Mr. Obama's office also said Mona Sutphen, a longtime foreign service officer who worked in Mr. Clinton's White House on the National Security Council, and Jim Messina, a former top aide to two U. S. senators, would both serve as deputy chief of staff. Also this weekend, it was reported that Valerie Jarrett, a senior Obama campaign advisor and former housing developer, will serve as senior White House advisor.