Must A President Be A Techie?

This week's issue of Newsweek contains an op-ed piece from resident writer Anna Quindlen about the need (in her opinion) for our nation's president to be technologically literate. In other words, a techie.

She first discusses in her editorial how Abraham Lincoln was a techie himself, at least as much as possible in the 1860's. Quindlen explains how Lincoln made use of that era's "Internet," the telegraph, as a means to communicate with his generals, thus having an advantage over Confederate forces who didn't have as much access to telegraphy. She refers to the recent book "Mr. Lincoln's T-Mails" by Tom Wheeler, in which the author describes how Lincoln pushed for the spread of the new technology across the country in order to achieve much better communication.

Then Ms. Quindlen contrasts Lincoln with John McCain, who freely admits that he's technologically illiterate and has never been online. She equates this with being out of touch and behind the curve in today's world. She makes a point how Al Qaeda is technology savvy and how our next president must be as well. Her arguments are compelling.

However, I'm not so sure I agree, even though I'm a professional techie myself. I don't know that it's necessary for our president to be at ease with computers and other modern technological marvels. It's critical that our spy agencies and defense services use all the technology possible for the nation's homeland defense. And it's crucial that our chief executive be willing to listen to advice from people who are technical experts.

But must a person know how to use email or build a website in order to be our commander-in-chief? An interesting question, but I think the answer is no. What is your opinion?