Why the Obama Blackberry battle mattered

In some ways this is as silly as the First Dog nonsense. In some ways not so much.

As Business Week notes this was mainly about the President retaining uncontrolled access to the outside world.

Presidents have had to fight through their own power bubbles since Andrew Jackson. Obama's goal is to have some friends give him honest feedback on how he looks from the outside. Think of the Blackberry as a 21st century Bebe Rebozo.

It's still unclear whether Obama is getting a real Blackberry or a Sectara Edge, a Windows mobile device approved for secure communication and use as a power lifting tool.

The key is not the technology in any case, but Obama's freedom to use it. If the Sectara is as heavy and clunky as it's said to be regular use may leave him with forearms like LeBron James'.

What is really at issue here are three things that haven't been mentioned, the President's time, the willingness of friends on his private e-mail list to stay straight, and the user interface.

I don't know who is on that list. Knowing would be like breaking a chain letter. My advice to them is simply to stay his friend, to protect his privacy and your own as well.

And if Obama doesn't like the software given him, my advice is to raise hell and ask for open source. If they're going to make you be first beta tester, be a good one.