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The virtual White House got its own upgrade last year, and traffic has increased tenfold. The Web site, whitehouse.gov, does live Webcasts of the president's speeches and posts digital photos almost as fast as the news wire services. Nine techies work the site, including the only men with ponytails in the Bush White House. Web exclusives, like an upcoming online tour of the Oval Office by none other than Mr. Sharpie himself, help attract viewers. The site gets several million hits on an average weekday--though some users may get lost at the unfortunately named whitehouse.com, which features online porn.

Some technologies may never find a home at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. The Bushies, for example, are bringing back White House operators and easing out the voice-mail routing system brought in by Bill Clinton. "Most Americans who call the White House want to hear a human voice," Hagin says. "What was thought antiquated is more efficient for the way we operate." Fair enough. All the operators surely know how to guide callers more efficiently than a computerized prompter that might offer only, say, "Press 1 for 'War in Iraq'."

© 2002