I don't see a press secretary news conference transcript on the WH site

[bigtree]

. . . need one. Bush's was indispensable.

[babylonsister]

1. Here's one to hold you over...

http://www.cqpolitics.com/wmspage.cfm?parm1=5&docID=news-000003015414

[TacticalPeek]

2. Thanks. I couldn't find one at the WH site either - nor a live feed earlier today.

Need those things back.

[bigtree]

4. right on!

there it is.

thanks, babylonsister :hi:

[babylonsister]

11. I think they'll get the site up and running once they figure out

how to upgrade the ancient 'puter system in the WH.

http://www.bloggersblog.com/cgi-bin/bloggersblog.pl?bblog=122091

[Pirate Smile]

3. It sounds like a huge headache the first few days. People didn't have passwords, phones didn't

work, the programs are ancient. It just sounds like a crappy, inefficient set up that they are dealing with and it is every-one's first couple of days at the same time.


Going from what they were used to dealing with to the antiquated stuff at the WH must have been an extreme culture shock.

[bigtree]

7. I understand when you have a campaign worker manning the site

But they really need to be prompt with these releases. There's one about abortion that's nowhere to be found on the WH site.

They need to have folks coming to their site first, shortly after they announce it, instead of relying on various news sources to flesh their policy out. They need someone on this full-time.

[Mrs. Ted Nancy]

5. Washington Post article

This explains part of the problem.

"Staff Finds White House in the Technological Dark Ages


By Anne E. Kornblut
Washington Post Staff Writer
Thursday, January 22, 2009; Page A01

-snip-

Two years after launching the most technologically savvy presidential campaign in history, Obama officials ran smack into the constraints of the federal bureaucracy yesterday, encountering a jumble of disconnected phone lines, old computer software, and security regulations forbidding outside e-mail accounts. here were plenty of first-day glitches, too, as calls to many lines in the West Wing were met with a busy signal all morning and those to the main White House switchboard were greeted by a recording, redirecting callers to the presidential Web site. A number of reporters were also shut out of the White House because of lost security clearance lists.

-snip-

... 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.

The site was updated for the first time last night, when information on the executive orders was added. But there were still no pool reports or blog entries. One member of the White House new-media team came to work on Tuesday, right after the swearing-in ceremony, only to discover that it was impossible to know which programs could be updated, or even which computers could be used for which purposes. The team members, accustomed to working on Macintoshes, found computers outfitted with six-year-old versions of Microsoft software. 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..."


Staff Finds White House in the Technological Dark Ages

[bigtree]

8. that explains a lot

whew.

Thanks for the article.

[bigtree]

10. heh

White House Already Well Wired, Bush Staffers Say
http://www.myfoxspokane.com/myfox/pages/News/Detail?contentId=8298036&version=1&locale=EN-US&layoutCode=TSTY&pageId=3.1.1

[elleng]

6. Conference did occur.

'There hadn't been so much excitement over Gibbs since the Bee Gees were at the top of the charts.

All 49 seats in the White House briefing room were full for the maiden news briefing by President Obama's press secretary, Robert Gibbs, and 100 more reporters crammed three-deep into the aisles. Dozens of others pointed cameras at the uncharacteristically well-dressed Obama aide.

"We should sell tickets and have the money go to the deficit or something," Gibbs joked.' >>>


http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/01/22/AR2009012203603.html?hpid=artslot

[Patsy Stone]

9. It's on C-SPAN right now. nt