Smart Politics On WCCO-TV’s “Good Question”: Obama and His Blackberry

Smart Politics‘ Eric Ostermeier was interviewed by the always-affable Jason DeRusha for his “Good Question” segment on WCCO-TV Tuesday evening.

The “Good Question” at issue was, “Why Can’t the President Use E-Mail” – in light of Barack Obama’s recent announcement that he would be giving up his Blackberry when he became president.

Obama’s decision not to communicate as president via e-mail – whether for reasons of security (e.g. Sarah Palin’s public relations disaster after her personal Yahoo account was hacked) or to further shield his presidency from potential future Congressional investigations – is the first sobering news, albeit trivial, for supporters who believe Obama will be an agent of great change in the White House (past presidents have also given up e-mail upon taking office, although they are not required to do so).

Obama will not, as it turns out, be the first e-mailing president – an interesting juxtaposition against the image of his presidential campaign which masterfully used e-mails and texting to mobilize thousands of volunteers, millions of voters, and raise hundreds of millions of dollars.

But, for those who are dismayed that Obama will not be the first ‘digital President,’ fear not: Election 2012 is just around the corner and the “Re-elect Obama” campaign will be more than happy to flood your inbox and cell phones with e-mails and text messages in just a few years.