Obama’s Not Giving Up BlackBerry Without a Fight

Despite the concerns over the very real security, legal and Presidential Records Act issues in letting a president communicate willy-nilly via handset, President-elect Barack Obama is trying very hard to find a way to keep his beloved BlackBerry after he takes office on Jan. 20. The issue is far from resolved.

For the first tech president, as he’s known, it’s all rather fitting.

The “bubble” — the effect of closing the president off from the real world, bad news and potentially unvetted opinions — is something the president-elect wants to beat, he told MSNBC in an interview last week. And the BlackBerry has so far been critical to doing just that, its text and e-mail functions allowing him to circumvent any filter his handlers might want to impose. It’s also a testament to his commitment to stay close to the needs of the people he governs, he told CNBC last week: “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."

But because of the fact that wireless messaging is notoriously insecure, as well as open to Congressional subpoena, those around the prez–to-be say it’s just not responsible for him to insist on keeping the CrackBerry. On the other hand, is it a tad ironic for the leader of the free world to be stuck in the dark ages as the world moves rapidly toward anytime, anywhere, wirelessly-enabled information access? Is it reasonable to expect Obama to be judicious in its use? If the CIA can use handhelds, why can’t the president? We wouldn’t expect him to use texting to communicate the nuclear “go” codes, after all.

Obama is still working with his aides and advisors to find a way to resolve the issue. Asked about it on NBC's "Today" show, Obama said he’s "still in a scuffle around that ... how do you stay in touch with the flow of everyday life?"

Obama also last week told CNBC and the New York Times that he’s “still clinging” to the device: “They’re going to pry it out of my hands.”

All the BlackBerry love flowing from the mouth of the president-elect is worth anywhere from $25 million to $50 million in free publicity, according to the marketing industry. So perhaps in light of this, BlackBerry should get hard to work securing a private, hardened channel for the POTUS.