Obama is Not a Twitterer But Plays One on TV

During a town hall meeting in China President Obama was asked if he thought Chinese people should be able to use Twitter, a service which is sometimes blocked by the Chinese government:

The messaging service is at times blocked in China. Obama began by confessing: “First of all, let me say that I have never used Twitter. I notice that young people — you know, they’re very busy with all these electronics. My thumbs are too clumsy to type in things on the phone. But I’m a big believer in technology, and I’m a big believer in openness when it comes to the flow of information.”

“I have a lot of critics in the United States who can say all kinds of things about me,” he continued. “I actually think that that makes our democracy stronger. And it makes me a better leader, because it forces me to hear opinions that I don’t want to hear.”

A couple of things come to mind. First, there is a "verified" Twitter account for Barack Obama with 2.6 million followers. Somebody's feeding these people the daily dose of Barackoloney, but apparently not the president.

Secondly, do you really believe the guy who declared war on Rush Limbaugh and Fox News really believes in openness and hearing opposing opinions?

I, on the other hand, so not have a staff handling my Twitter feed. I post all that stuff myself and you can follow along here.