Tech & Biz

Hi-tech Obama Officials meet no-tech White House mess

by TDH | January 22, 2009 at 04:14 pm

242 views | 13 Recommendations | 7 comments

Obama et al, after orchestrating the most technologically savvy presidential campaign to date, have met one of their first major adversaries on the road to change: the White House itself.

Yesterday, Obama officials took command of the White House only to discover outdated PCs, blocked external email log-ins, blocked instant messaging, a scarcity of laptops, and a mess of jumbled, crisscrossed phone lines. Presumably as a result of this no-tech nightmare, not a single update was posted on the White House Web site detailing any of the early "transparent" measures taken on Obama's historic first day on the job.

By late evening, the vaunted new White House Web site did not offer any updated posts about President Obama's busy first day on the job, which included an inaugural prayer service, an open house with the public, and meetings with his economic and national security teams.

Nor did the site reflect the transparency Obama promised to deliver. "The President has not yet issued any executive orders," it stated hours after Obama issued executive orders to tighten ethics rules, enhance Freedom of Information Act rules and freeze the salaries of White House officials who earn more than $100,000.

Apparently, and keeping with traditional conservative luddism, these limits to mobility and connectivity are in the name of security.

Senior advisers chafed at the new arrangements, which severely limit mobility -- partly by tradition but also for security reasons and to ensure that all official work is preserved under the Presidential Records Act.

"The White House itself is an institution that transitions regardless of who the president is," he said. "The White House is not starting from scratch. Processes are already in place."

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matte

at 16:58 on January 22nd, 2009

well there is somewhere that the new spending will be made!

Maireid Sullivan

at 18:23 on January 22nd, 2009

It's well-known that Obama himself is a Mac fan, and not surprisingly, his campaign staff was largely powered by a fleet of Macs as well, but according to The Washington Post, the Obama team waltzed into the White House, only to find "computers outfitted with six-year-old versions of Microsoft software." Furthermore, "Laptops were scarce, assigned to only a few people in the West Wing. The team was left struggling to put closed captions on online videos."

And, while all of that was going on, on Wednesday, Obama had to re-do his Oath of Office: See a report here

duo

at 21:56 on January 22nd, 2009

I get all excited when words like "transparent" ate used in connection with the White House or anything governmental. I think I'm really going to enjoy President Obama's administration. In fact, I'm ready to vote for him again, based on his brief time in office.

See what the ACLU reports our new president did already!

With four executive orders today, our new President:

Ordered Guantánamo Bay shut down
Banned torture
Ordered a full review of U.S. detention policies and procedures, and
Delayed the trial of Ali al-Marri, an ACLU client whose case is at the center of the Supreme Court’s review of indefinite detention policies.

javier polo

at 00:41 on January 23rd, 2009

The Obama is a great hope for all the world. Your “yes, we can” is in the history as the “I have a dream” of Martin Luther King.

javier polo has contributed a photo to this story.

Paschen

at 00:49 on January 23rd, 2009

I would say it is more along the lines of JFK then MLK.

harringtola

at 07:29 on January 23rd, 2009

Yes very JFK and Camelot. Additionally ,the message of "put away childish things" more in tune with "ask what you can do for your country".

But more on topic, I heard he did get his Blackberry.

headneckbody

at 07:44 on January 25th, 2009

Pennsylvania Avenue and E Street were both closed for all of 1/20 but the White House and the parade preparations were visible from the fences set up north of the Washington Monument after the inauguration.

headneckbody has contributed a photo to this story.