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CNN Saturday Morning News
How Tough Is It to E-Mail the President?
Aired July 19, 2003 - 07:49 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THOMAS ROBERTS, CNN ANCHOR: Well, if you're wondering what Anderson Cooper has been up to since the last time he sat in this very chair, besides going prime time, here's a little hint for you -- he's bugging the president.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ANDERSON COOPER, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): So I'm reading the "New York Times" this morning and there's an article saying it's become much more difficult to e-mail the president. Frankly, I'd never thought of e-mailing the most important man in the world before. But how tough can it really be?
I type in www.whitehouse.com. Oops, it turns out it's a porn site -- excuse me, an adult entertainment site. I don't think they really want my e-mail.
So then I try www.whitehouse.gov, and boom, there I am, the virtual White House. I find the president's e-mail address, write my letter and hit send. It seems simple enough. This is great. But wait. They've sent me an e-mail. Apparently my comments are very important to the president and they want to know more. So now they want me to go to another site.
Let's see, I have to let them know up front if I'm sending a supporting comment or a different opinion. It looks like there's a whole bunch of topics to choose from. Now they want my personal information. Prefix? Hmmm, admiral sounds good. No, better not lie. It is the White House, after all.
Oh, great, now I get to rewrite my comments. I think it's nice that the computer automatically vouches for my sincerity. All in all, it takes me about 10 minutes to write the president. They say I'll get an e-mail within 72 hours. But wait, the president's going to be in Crawford, Texas. I wonder if he checks his e-mail over the weekend.
Anderson Cooper, CNN, New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
Aired July 19, 2003 - 07:49 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THOMAS ROBERTS, CNN ANCHOR: Well, if you're wondering what Anderson Cooper has been up to since the last time he sat in this very chair, besides going prime time, here's a little hint for you -- he's bugging the president.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ANDERSON COOPER, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): So I'm reading the "New York Times" this morning and there's an article saying it's become much more difficult to e-mail the president. Frankly, I'd never thought of e-mailing the most important man in the world before. But how tough can it really be?
I type in www.whitehouse.com. Oops, it turns out it's a porn site -- excuse me, an adult entertainment site. I don't think they really want my e-mail.
So then I try www.whitehouse.gov, and boom, there I am, the virtual White House. I find the president's e-mail address, write my letter and hit send. It seems simple enough. This is great. But wait. They've sent me an e-mail. Apparently my comments are very important to the president and they want to know more. So now they want me to go to another site.
Let's see, I have to let them know up front if I'm sending a supporting comment or a different opinion. It looks like there's a whole bunch of topics to choose from. Now they want my personal information. Prefix? Hmmm, admiral sounds good. No, better not lie. It is the White House, after all.
Oh, great, now I get to rewrite my comments. I think it's nice that the computer automatically vouches for my sincerity. All in all, it takes me about 10 minutes to write the president. They say I'll get an e-mail within 72 hours. But wait, the president's going to be in Crawford, Texas. I wonder if he checks his e-mail over the weekend.
Anderson Cooper, CNN, New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
