No. That skill has no bearing on my vote. - Hutch Carpenter

I think it's important that he has people who know the internet (it wouldn't be a good trait if he/she didn't do that, and I'd consider that behind the times) but I don't think the actual president needs to know how to do that. Frankly, there are a MUCH more important things that I feel the president should master than the web.... I might actually consider the president to be wasting time if he decided to take that task on just to take it on. - Kate Brodock from twhirl

The President will never need to use their own computer while in office; however, knowing how the web functions, its role in the economy, and how 90+% of the country uses it is very important in the 21stC - Nicholas Molnar from twhirl

Seriously... the president needs to pick good advisers and have experience in government. Hire someone to explain Facebook to him. The main decisions involve foriegn policy, not whether twitter is better than plurk. - Soulhuntre from twhirl

Nope. But he should understand Web/tech regulatory issues. - Shey, Jamaican of FF

Wouldn't the President need to know how to use email to communicate with the White House staff? - Rishabh Mishra (p248)

I think the President of the United States in the 21st century should be capable of operating a computer and making use of mainstream internet services. - Jason Wehmhoener

Is pushing "The Button" considered computer use? - Andrew Smith

they should know how to read e-mail & google. - clarke thomas

I think a President does need to know how to use a computer. Question is, would he/she use a PC or a Mac - Richie Escovedo

So, so many more important aspects of what makes someone a good leader for a whole nationt han whether they can surf the frickin' web. - Soulhuntre from twhirl

I think there are some very important issues that my grandma does not understand, because she doesn't understand computers and the web - Charlie from twhirl

Technology is already a big part of our lives and will only grow. If a President can't even operate a computer, they are out of touch with the people they represent. That's the truth. - Shawn Farner from twhirl

This is 2008, if you can't surf the web and do other basic tasks with a computer, you are out of touch in a big way. For most people, that doesn't matter. For the president, you don't get to be excused. - Rahsheen ™, Coach of FF

Each Human needs to know how to use a Web. Is President a Human?:) - Igor Poltavskiy

@jason, well stated. - Clay Newton

Not sure if the president needs to know how to use the computer but I am pretty sure that he needs to know that he can't keep a war going for 100 years. - Krishnan Subramanian

I would think that it can be expected that a Presidential candidate should have had the time and the willingness to have learned how to use a computer before the duties of the President PERHAPS make it irrelevant. - Matthew Imakyure from twhirl

Similar discussion here: http://friendfeed.com/e... - Jim Stanger

Yes. Not having even basic computer skills in 2008 betrays a lack of curiosity and intellectual rigor. - Chris Baskind

Although my vote would depend more on the vision and positions of a candidate, I think that to be in the position of the most powerful person on the earth, you would need to have at least a minimum amount of knowledge, not just about PC's and the internet BTW. Imagine Medvedev or Putin sending an IM message that goes lost without a reply :-) - Marc Dierens

Of course. 80% of the country uses computers, and over 50% is on the Internet. It is a way of reaching his audience, the voters. It's now part of basic literacy skills. Does he have to spend the day online? Of course not. - Francine Hardaway

Yes. I'll second Chris Baskind's comment. - Eric Thompson

FYI: I blogged about this yesterday - http://tinyurl.com/42fqcp - Mike Keliher

communication is key. Yes. - Sean Oliver

This is a dumb question and a non-issue. It should be: Can the Candidate function as an everyday American using the tools, institutions and opportunities available to everyday people? - Andrew Feinberg

YES! Doh! - Susan Beebe

Andrew - Isn't that a bit harsh? There are no dumb questions? It is an issue whether or not you think it should be. To answer the question, I would like to see overall literacy and competency in my elected officials. - Mathew A. Koeneker

No. I'm tired of the issue being parsed and based on videos and sound-bites when the underlying one is whether or not the candidate is aware of the issues that everyday Americans face. It's one thing to be driven around and have people take care of your correspondence, advise you, and speak for you. That's ok. But you still need to be able to drive a car to really understand traffic and fill up a gas tank to see the price. Remember George H.W. Bush at the grocery store in 1992? - Andrew Feinberg

So by that logic, you would throw out McCain or Obama? - Mathew A. Koeneker

Neither of which, I am pretty sure, fill up their own cars with gas. - Mathew A. Koeneker

Although (and I can't believe I'm having this conversation) Obama's filled his tank a lot more recently than McCain has. But yes, a leader ought to be reasonably clued into what his constituents are doing / how they are interacting, etc. McCain's cluelessness about the 'net is obvious and a bit troubling. Having said that, I was annoyed when MSM was giving McCain crap for saying he "watched" Drudge, implying that he was describing it the same way as a TV show. That was unfair, because a lot of us... - Anthony Citrano

..would say we "watched" people online who we found interesting. I don't know whether McCain meant it that way or not, but I'm as sick of seeing people unfairly jump on McCain as I am the reverse. Let's stick to the real issues instead of this "gotcha" shit. - Anthony Citrano

There are more important things to worry about, but not gonna lie.. if my grandma can figure it out, I'd definitely love to be confident that our president would be able to check his email in a dire situation. - justine

The bigger issue is the one Andrew brought up. I want to know that the President has some basic understanding of the issues that will be coming up in the next 4-8 years. Those include amongst -many- others: mid-east politics, oil, stem-cells/genetic engineering, and yes regulatory issues surrounding the Internet. It's hard to deal with anything if you rely completely on your advisers. - Steve Spalding

Steve: scratch Mideast politics, as well as information technology, as a domain in which John McCain possesses any expertise -- he doesn't even understand the differences between Shiites and Sunnis. Basically, Lieberman whispers into McCain's ear, and McCain produces garbled renditions with a single message: WAR, WAR, WAR! Scary, considering that the Iraq War is costing Americans trillions of dollars while playing perfectly into the hands of Muslim fundamentalists. - Sean McBride

No, let him try to learn how to run a country first. Oops, silly me, ti's too late, he's leaving soon! - Ian May

Yes, they do, it is an important issue, the internet is quickly becoming or currently is the major means of communication in the world a basic lack of understanding of such a tool of communication and commerce - Justin Yost

Presidents have to know how to use computers & Internet. So they can understand how these tools can (have to) impact on the country and on the whole world's future (present!), regulation issues and so on.. a good balancing is required.. and it depends on the country in question. Presidents -have to- understand: they have to use them, and it is really important that they have good advisers. - Thierry R. Andriamirado

Thierry - McCain's advisers are dominated by the same neoconservatives who engineered the Iraq War. So not to worry. - Sean McBride

Yes, for the same reasons that I would expect a political leader to know how to use a telephone. - Andy Murdoch