There’s been a fair amount of snickering over the possibility that Barack Obama will have to give up his BlackBerry after his swearing-in next week, with the implication that it’s just a personal habit he’ll have a hard time breaking, like quitting smoking. Apparently, the security risks associated with a president using a mobile device are too enormous for the U.S. government to contain. There’s also the matter of political risks. Since records have to be kept of everything the president puts into writing, he better protect himself and avoid communications that are off the cuff.
