Should Prs. Obama's Blackberry Remain Completely Private?
By ParaTed2k
@ParaTed2k (22940)
Sheboygan, Wisconsin
March 6, 2009 6:15pm CST
Prs. Obama insist that his administration will be as transparent as the Secret Service and National Security will allow. Yet he insists that his Blackberry is off limits to anyone but himself.
He is not the first president in the age of cellphones. Wireless telephones have been offered in the mass market since the Reagan Administration. Since then, presidents have seen no reason to insist that no one has any business knowing who they are talking to or what is being said, just because its on a cellphone instead of a landline.
There is a lot to be worried about here.. not just because it's Prs. Obama, but because he is president period.
Our system of government is based on checks and balances. No member of our government has any stand alone authority. Even within the Executive Branch, there are systems of checks and balances. One of them is the fact that conversations between the president and others are documented. Telephone logs have been part of this for as long as presidents have used the thing.
So why does Obama think that his Blackberry is somehow different than any other part of the job? What else does he feel should be his own, free from the realities of being president?
I wonder how the Anti Bush crowd would have reacted if Prs. Bush insisted that a device he used while on the job was off limits to anyone else.
For a guy who claims to be about openness and transparency, he seems to take great pains to keep so much away from public scrutiny.
5 people like this
7 responses
@spalladino (17891)
• United States
7 Mar 09
I thought his email and texting was limited to only certain people and that there was going to be a record of it on a secure server. Do I have this wrong...which is entirely possible at this time in my life. 
@jonesy123 (3948)
• United States
7 Mar 09
That's what I had heard (the secure servers storage), too. But rules have changed so much, this might have been conveniently slipped in. Although I haven't heard about anything different as of yet, except for this discussion.
1 person likes this
@ParaTed2k (22940)
• Sheboygan, Wisconsin
7 Mar 09
That is the agreement, but who has access to the server to verify that he is keeping to it?
@jonesy123 (3948)
• United States
7 Mar 09
Who is the record keeper of everything else? I'd assume that would be the same person... after all there are conversations that have to be stored very secured. Top secret stuff. That wouldn't be any different here, I'd think.
@jonesy123 (3948)
• United States
7 Mar 09
Like spalladino, I was under the impression that everything would be recorded on a secure server. As of now, I have not heard anything different.
Either way, a record should be created for all of this. A blackberry is not different from a phone or computer. While some people may believe that he deserves a certain level of privacy, well, reality is, that hasn't been the case for several presidents now. If you are elected president you are on the clock 24/7, and anything and everything you do is a matter of public record.
And I agree, if he refuses this it puts the claim of openness and transparency into question. But re-nagging on his promises... well it doesn't surprise me at all. Anything to get elected, right?
1 person likes this
@ParaTed2k (22940)
• Sheboygan, Wisconsin
7 Mar 09
He has already reneged on at least one of his other transparency promises. You know, the one about allowing 5 days of "sunshine" on all non-emergency bills that hit his desk before signing them. So why should we just accept that he'll keep this one?
1 person likes this
@spalladino (17891)
• United States
7 Mar 09
Because this isn't a campaign promise...this a requirement. It has to do with the national archieves or something...I don't remember exactly and don't have time to look right now.
1 person likes this
@suspenseful (40192)
• Canada
7 Mar 09
I can understand him having a private cell phone so that his wife and daughters can get in touch with him in case of emergencies, but that does not have to be a Blackberry, if one of the kids phone and says, "Could you pick me up at so and so's house? I am afraid to go home alone." But when he has a Blackberry that has data, text, as well as voice, it is not just for him to talk to Michelle or to use when the White House phone is getting fixed, it is for his official business.
So why does he need this privacy? Has he something to hide? Is he planning to emulate that new show Kings that is coming on in NBC and make himself supreme ruler of the United States.
At least as for as being God, he has been outdone. That position has already been taken.
@ParaTed2k (22940)
• Sheboygan, Wisconsin
7 Mar 09
I don't mind that he has a blackberry, what bothers me is there is no apparent check or verfication that he is sticking to the agreement.
1 person likes this
@suspenseful (40192)
• Canada
8 Mar 09
I always thought his philosophy was "do as I say, not as I do," or "the privation will have to endure as a result of the stiumulus does not apply to me. My family and I are above the law, we are superior to you so we will ask you to give up and make sacrifices, but we do not need to."
I cannot see anyone owning a Blackberry - all those little keys to type messages in - but I guess they have not invented one with a regular sized keyboard yet. 
@olivebranch56 (910)
• United States
7 Mar 09
This is just part of what scares the he double L hockey sticks out of me about this man. He is so devious, and sneaky. They say Bush tried to hide things, well he couldn't because the press tracked his every move, and exposed him at every turn, to the point of harassment in m opinion. The press has given O'Bama a free pass, and no one is making him responsible for his, nor his cabinet members actions. I fear we will soon begin to see the fallout of this, very soon! Blessings Marilyn
@ulalume (713)
• United States
7 Mar 09
Is all of this talk of transparancy implying that the right to privacy will be taken away? His Blackberry should be off limits, just as my cell phone should also be. It does not matter if he is President and I am not. Theres a difference between having openness with the public and the public desiring to see into his personal life. I dont think anyone who bashes simple things like this really think it through. Would you want the public going through your most personal things? You may as well hand your cell phones over now if this is acceptable to you. Hand them over to your bosses, your spouses, your family, your friends, those who despise you and those who love you.
If someone wants to complain about his openness and transparancy, this is not the route to take. How about considering that he will not release his birth related documents and such. That is something we have the right to be aware of.
@ParaTed2k (22940)
• Sheboygan, Wisconsin
7 Mar 09
So it doesn't bother you that Prs. Obama may have a means of communication that can't be checked or balanced by anyone?
@ParaTed2k (22940)
• Sheboygan, Wisconsin
8 Mar 09
Right, but his blackberry can't be run on a normal cellphone system, for national security reasons. So how is his Blackberry being secured, and how is his compliance with the agreement being verified?
@spalladino (17891)
• United States
8 Mar 09
Ted, how much do you know about cell phones and texting? Every call made and received, every text made and received...all of them are logged on a secure server and saved. Unlike the landline phone in the oval office, cell phones provide a record of all calls...not just long distance ones.
@writer811 (56)
• United States
7 Mar 09
Come on now. It's not just his phone, it's his privacy. This is America for god's sakes! Being able to keep our personnal information to ourselves is our constitutional right. Let him keep it private. Who would want to know what was on it anyway?
@cream97 (29086)
• United States
7 Mar 09
Well I don't know too much about this one. It is entirely up to whomever can make this decision. Preisdent Barak, needs his privacy, but I don't understand why does he need it with him all of the time. I mean, this is for his own leisure and pleasure. Not unless he uses his Blackberry for presidential reasons. I really don't know what to say on this issue. It is something that I can't speak on. I do know that he may have a good reason for being on it, what, I am unsure of.. But, if it distracts him from his meetings, then he may not need to be on it..
But, if it distracts him from his meetings, then he may not need to be on it..