Obama wants cool technology for Oval Office
Unaware his remarks were being overheard by reporters, Obama criticizes federal technology, workforce
Perhaps President Barack Obama would like a Batphone?
In off-the-cuff remarks at fundraiser, which the president apparently didn't realize were being transmitted to the White House press room by a microphone that was still live, Obama criticized the government for its "horrible" technology.
"Maybe the president has become so disenchanted with federal technology he forgot that media companies are pretty adept at recording stuff," writes Katherine McIntire Peters in NextGov. "CBS' Mark Knoller quoted Obama as saying, 'I always thought I was gonna have like really cool phones and stuff.'"
Ed O'Keefe, in the Washington Post Federal Eye blog, noted that Obama's criticisms went beyond the technology. He also said, still not aware his words were being overheard, that while most federal employees are dedicated and hard-working, some are "slugs, and not trying to do their job."