Symbol of Elite Access: E-Mail to the Chief

Anthony Lake served as one of Barack Obama’s principal counselors on foreign affairs during the campaign and exchanged email messages with him regularly. But now that Mr. Obama is president, Mr. Lake no longer has his email address.

“No,” he said when asked if he had it. “Did. Don’t.”

Neither does Nancy Pelosi, the speaker of the house, nor Steny H. Hoyer, the majority leader, but they do not use email much anyway. Mitch McConnell, the Senate Republican leader, is a BlackBerry fiend, but he does not have Mr. Obama’s address. Nor do many members of the cabinet, including Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates.

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