David Flynn27 November 2008, 11:26 AM
He may be the most powerful man in the world, but even the President-elect has to argue with IT policies in his workplace. He's fighting hard to keep his Blackberry.
US President-elect Barack Obama is trying to standing firm on his desire to hang onto his beloved BlackBerry mobile phone. Strict White House policy on security and archiving of official records was supposed to see Obama
lose access to his BlackBerry email as well as his Apple laptop once he moves into The Oval Office on January 20th next year.
But in a TV interview with US journalist Barbara Walters, Obama explains how he’s trying to hang onto his BlackBerry as a way of keeping in touch with the ‘outside world’.
“This is a problem. You know, one of the things that I'm going to have to work through is how to break through the isolation and the bubble that exists around the president.”
Obama said he was working with his staff, legal counsel and the Secret Service to find a solution.
“I'm negotiating to figure out how can I get information from outside of the 10 or 12 people who surround my office in the White House, because one of the worst things I think that could happen to a president is losing touch with what people are going through day to day.”
Obama lists one of his own worst habits as constantly checking his BlackBerry, and was an intensive user of the email-capable smartphone during his marathon election campaign.
Obama’s chief strategist David Axelrod recalls that during the campaign, “(Obama’s) BlackBerry was constantly crackling with e-mails.” Obama also relied on his BlackBerry to review memos and briefing books on the go.