# I didn't know Presidents didn't use email **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [November 16, 2008, 4:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-didnt-know-presidents-didnt-use-email/472959 "2008-11-16T04:21:49Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Runs\_With\_Scissors](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/278dde/32.png) [@Runs\_With\_Scissors](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Runs_With_Scissors)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2008, 4:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-didnt-know-presidents-didnt-use-email/472959/1 "2008-11-16T04:21:49Z")
[http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/16/us...kberry.html?hp](http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/16/us...kberry.html?hp) This is a NY Times article about Obama having to give up email. I just assumed Presidents used email. Email, really, only became widely used under Clinton; compared to the numbers today, the number of people using email during Clinton’s administration is minuscule. So how does the President communicate? Really, the only question is how does Bush communicate? He’s really the first President during wide use of email (and the World Wide Web). I can’t imagine this moratorium on email will continue. Still, though…what exactly is the rule with Presidential communication? Even if he used PGP, would Obama’s email still be public record? Forgive all the ignorance this post implies…it’s new to me. ---
**Author:** ![Captain\_Carrot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f0a364/32.png) [@Captain\_Carrot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Captain_Carrot)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2008, 4:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-didnt-know-presidents-didnt-use-email/472959/2 "2008-11-16T04:28:22Z")
Linky no worky. ---
**Author:** ![Runs\_With\_Scissors](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/278dde/32.png) [@Runs\_With\_Scissors](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Runs_With_Scissors)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2008, 4:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-didnt-know-presidents-didnt-use-email/472959/3 "2008-11-16T04:32:58Z")
> [@Captain\_Carrot](#): > > Linky no worky. Try this: [http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/16/us/politics/16blackberry.html?hp](http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/16/us/politics/16blackberry.html?hp) ---
**Author:** ![Captain\_Carrot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f0a364/32.png) [@Captain\_Carrot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Captain_Carrot)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2008, 4:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-didnt-know-presidents-didnt-use-email/472959/4 "2008-11-16T04:47:06Z")
That is very interesting. I wonder if Bush is going to get a non-AOL account now? 😃 Seriously, though, can’t he get a public and private email address, so that he doesn’t have to worry about FOIA for stuff that’s nobody’s business? ---
**Author:** ![friedo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/8edcca/32.png) [@friedo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/friedo)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2008, 4:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-didnt-know-presidents-didnt-use-email/472959/5 "2008-11-16T04:52:57Z")
> [@Captain\_Carrot](#): > > Seriously, though, can’t he get a public and private email address, so that he doesn’t have to worry about FOIA for stuff that’s nobody’s business? That’s exactly the issue that caused a scandal for Gov. Palin. She used her private email account to conduct state business instead of her government address. Any President using a private email account would be subject to questions about what he was using it for. ---
**Author:** ![Tuckerfan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/eada6e/32.png) [@Tuckerfan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tuckerfan)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2008, 5:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-didnt-know-presidents-didnt-use-email/472959/6 "2008-11-16T05:24:06Z")
I’m going to come out and say that that article is a lot of bull. First of all, _plenty_ of people in the White House _do_ use email, or am I in some kind of bizarro world where the whole scandal of White House folks sending emails through the _wrong_ server never happened? If _they_ can use email, and in theory, at least, be in compliance with government regulations, then so can the President. Notice that Bush said he was stopping his email use _not_ because of government regulations, but because: > [@Then President-elect Bush](#): > > Since I do not want my private conversations looked at by those out to embarrass, the only course of action is not to correspond in cyberspace,” Meaning, he didn’t want people forwarding around something he emailed them, and _not_ that he was prohibited from doing so. Nor is it a “security risk.” You, provided you have the proper clearances to buy them, can use devices like the BlackBerry, which encrypt everything, and it remains encrypted until it reaches the _correct_ recipient. Yes, social engineering and spyware can breech those, but being able to successfully pull those off on someone like the POTUS would be insanely difficult. Obama will no doubt have to watch what he sends to whom, and what account he uses to do it, but he _can_ keep emailing people if he so desires. Given the man’s love of tech (multiple cellphones, Star Trek references, etc.), I really doubt he’s going to quit, though he certainly will cut down. ---
**Author:** ![Shagnasty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9dc877/32.png) [@Shagnasty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shagnasty)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2008, 5:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-didnt-know-presidents-didnt-use-email/472959/7 "2008-11-16T05:44:21Z")
I wouldn’t do it if I were the Pres. It is easy enough to send encrypted messages to someone with something like a PGP key but the person on the other end could still decrypt it and send it somewhere else creating a bad chain of messages if they so desired. The risk simply is not worth it. ---
**Author:** ![Tuckerfan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/eada6e/32.png) [@Tuckerfan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tuckerfan)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2008, 5:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-didnt-know-presidents-didnt-use-email/472959/8 "2008-11-16T05:57:03Z")
> [@Shagnasty](#): > > I wouldn’t do it if I were the Pres. It is easy enough to send encrypted messages to someone with something like a PGP key but the person on the other end could still decrypt it and send it somewhere else creating a bad chain of messages if they so desired. The risk simply is not worth it. There’s ways around that. Instead of the person getting the text of the email, they just get a link to an encrypted webpage, they have to prove they’re who’re they’re supposed to be, and then they can read the message. Once they’ve read it, the webpage automatically deletes it. Additionally, you can set up a person’s device so that they can only send and recieve messages to and from selected people. This is done at multiple levels, so the ability to get around it is extremely limited. When I worked for the satphone company, we had to set up a pair of satphones so that they could _only_ call one another, or be called by one another. It took a lot of work, and I have no idea why this was needed, but it was done, and the customer was a former POTUS. ---
**Author:** ![friedo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/8edcca/32.png) [@friedo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/friedo)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2008, 5:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-didnt-know-presidents-didnt-use-email/472959/9 "2008-11-16T05:59:04Z")
> [@Tuckerfan](#): > > Notice that Bush said he was stopping his email use _not_ because of government regulations, but because:Meaning, he didn’t want people forwarding around something he emailed them, and _not_ that he was prohibited from doing so. No, he stopped sending emails because, as Presidential correspondence, they would all be public record, whether they were forwarded or not. ---
**Author:** ![Tuckerfan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/eada6e/32.png) [@Tuckerfan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tuckerfan)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2008, 6:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-didnt-know-presidents-didnt-use-email/472959/10 "2008-11-16T06:06:43Z")
> [@friedo](#): > > No, he stopped sending emails because, as Presidential correspondence, they would all be public record, whether they were forwarded or not. Still **not** a legal requirement for him to “cease and desist,” however, and there are rules about the public getting them, and given this Administrations refusal to turn over documents even when ordered to by the courts, I have a hard time believing that Bush was worried about them being examined through _official_ channels. ---
**Author:** ![friedo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/8edcca/32.png) [@friedo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/friedo)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2008, 6:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-didnt-know-presidents-didnt-use-email/472959/11 "2008-11-16T06:56:31Z")
> [@Tuckerfan](#): > > Still **not** a legal requirement for him to “cease and desist,” RTFA. Nobody claimed there was such a legal requirement. > [@](#): > > however, and there are rules about the public getting them, and given this Administrations refusal to turn over documents even when ordered to by the courts, I have a hard time believing that Bush was worried about them being examined through _official_ channels. That’s just dumb. ---
**Author:** ![Tuckerfan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/eada6e/32.png) [@Tuckerfan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tuckerfan)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2008, 7:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-didnt-know-presidents-didnt-use-email/472959/12 "2008-11-16T07:05:17Z")
> [@friedo](#): > > RTFA. Nobody claimed there was such a legal requirement. RTFOP, notice the words “having to give up email,” with the implication that somehow becoming POTUS means you can’t use email any more. Pretty much the only way that could happen if you’re the most powerful man in the world is if you’re required to do it by law, or if the laws of physics prohibit you from doing so. > [@](#): > > That’s just dumb. Yes, I agree that it is dumb of this Administration to do such a thing, but they’ve done plenty of dumb things in the past, so its well within plausability. ---
**Author:** ![ZebraShaSha](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/eada6e/32.png) [@ZebraShaSha](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZebraShaSha)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2008, 7:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-didnt-know-presidents-didnt-use-email/472959/13 "2008-11-16T07:16:02Z")
What’s the big deal if he communicates with old friends or stays in touch with what’s going on “in real time”? As long as he isn’t sending state secrets with an emoticon, there’s nothing to really worry about, no? Obama seems like the kind of guy that’s smart enough not to be stupid. ---
**Author:** ![Tuckerfan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/eada6e/32.png) [@Tuckerfan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tuckerfan)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2008, 7:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-didnt-know-presidents-didnt-use-email/472959/14 "2008-11-16T07:20:14Z")
> [@ZebraShaSha](#): > > What’s the big deal if he communicates with old friends or stays in touch with what’s going on “in real time”? As long as he isn’t sending state secrets with an emoticon, there’s nothing to really worry about, no? Obama seems like the kind of guy that’s smart enough not to be stupid. Given Obama’s use of his CrackBerry and that there were **no** leaks until the mention of Hillary as SoS, I tend to agree with you. He’ll certainly cutback on his emailing, but I doubt if he’ll be able (or want) to give it up altogether. ---
**Author:** ![China\_Guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/779978/32.png) [@China\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/China_Guy)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2008, 9:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-didnt-know-presidents-didnt-use-email/472959/15 "2008-11-16T09:59:54Z")
one can use windows digital rights management or other software to send a secure encrypted email that can not be forwarded or printed. one can set a ‘self destruct’ after a certain date or after being opened once. of course, blackberry does have that functionality so Obama will need to switch to a windows mobile device. ---
**Author:** ![Tim\_T-Bonham.net](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/46a35a/32.png) [@Tim\_T-Bonham.net](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tim_T-Bonham.net)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2008, 10:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-didnt-know-presidents-didnt-use-email/472959/16 "2008-11-16T10:31:58Z")
I suspect that Obama, as President, will be just too busy to do email personally. I have worked with the head of a much smaller government agency, and he hardly ever responded to email himself. Most often, his email was printed out, he took it with him & looked at it during meetings, travel time, etc., and scribbled notes on it to various staff members on how to respond. Then he’d drop it off with his secretary, who would forward the email & his note to the appropriate staff person. They would then respond (usually tvia email) to the original sender. So email was received & sent, but very rarely by this executive – he was just too busy. I would imagine that same situation is even more true for the President. He’s just too busy to be sitting down typing out responses to emails, and he has available a horde of secretaries & aides who can attend to this for him. ---
**Author:** ![fluiddruid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/c2a13f/32.png) [@fluiddruid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fluiddruid)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2008, 12:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-didnt-know-presidents-didnt-use-email/472959/17 "2008-11-16T12:43:55Z")
> [@China\_Guy](#): > > one can use windows digital rights management or other software to send a secure encrypted email that can not be forwarded or printed. one can set a ‘self destruct’ after a certain date or after being opened once. > > of course, blackberry does have that functionality so Obama will need to switch to a windows mobile device. There’s no government cellular equivalent, though. Wouldn’t it be a security risk to have these messages sent through such channels? Even if the message is encrypted, wouldn’t there be a risk from the provider itself (let’s say someone at a high level in Sprint was working with a foreign government)? ---
**Author:** ![Tuckerfan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/eada6e/32.png) [@Tuckerfan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tuckerfan)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2008, 9:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-didnt-know-presidents-didnt-use-email/472959/18 "2008-11-16T21:19:27Z")
> [@fluiddruid](#): > > There’s no government cellular equivalent, though. Wouldn’t it be a security risk to have these messages sent through such channels? Even if the message is encrypted, wouldn’t there be a risk from the provider itself (let’s say someone at a high level in Sprint was working with a foreign government)? No. First of all, modern encryption methods simply can’t be broken without the data key. Trying to decrypt it without the key would take centuries. Second, the government has its own monitoring equipment and dedicated communication equipment in the domestic telecomm facilities. If you have a government issued _secured_ cellphone, any calls you make on it (at least in the US) will be routed through the government’s switchers, and **not** the switchers that the average phone call are handled by. ---
**Author:** ![Cervaise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cervaise/32/16693_2.png) [@Cervaise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cervaise)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2008, 9:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-didnt-know-presidents-didnt-use-email/472959/19 "2008-11-16T21:59:43Z")
> [@Runs\_With\_Scissors](#): > > Really, the only question is how does Bush communicate? Hitler: “My dog has no nose!” Crowd: “How does he smell?” ---
**Author:** ![Tom\_Tildrum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e95f7d/32.png) [@Tom\_Tildrum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tom_Tildrum)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2008, 7:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-didnt-know-presidents-didnt-use-email/472959/20 "2008-11-17T19:38:40Z")
A presidential email address would almost certainly be leaked quickly, and then inundated. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-didnt-know-presidents-didnt-use-email/472959.md?page=2)