All Blog Posts from Political Hotsheet

Defense Secretary Robert Gates today praised social media applications like Twitter which have used to document this week’s protests in Tehran, Iran.

During a press briefing, Gates said such technological advancements represent "one of the more, maybe more significant developments in the last 20 years or so” because they puts "communications technology in the hands of average citizens around the world."

He said new technology, including the Internet, cell phones and social networking sites, have made it "extremely difficult" for authoritarian governments to control information.

Gates said the technologies have been a "huge strategic asset for the United Stations," adding that "it's a huge win for freedom around the world because this monopoly of information is no longer in the hands of the government.”

In the case of Iran, he joked that the country's leaders probably did not consider Twitter when instituting a communications lock down.

"If you can't text, then you Twitter," Gates said. "And, you know, my guess is in some of these countries that -- that the leadership is kind of like me. They don't have a clue what it's about."

Take a look here:

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When Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich blasted President Obama's Supreme Court nominee Judge Sonia Sotomayor for being a racist on Twitter, he ignited a debate over her objectivity.

Speaking to Face the Nation guest moderator Harry Smith Sunday, senior White House advisor David Axelrod defended Sotomayor against charges that she is a racist.

"I think what she believes, Harry, is that everyone is the product of their experiences. She's the product of hers."

Axelrod called Gingrich's comment "unfortunate" and said, "I think that it is so unfair and so unreflective of who she is."

Later in the program, Gingrich said he wished to "reframe" his initial comment calling Sotomayor a racist, when really he does not know the nominee and meant that her words were racist.

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This post was written by Igor Kossov.

Give legislators BlackBerrys and they suddenly have something to do during a presidential address other than of simply absorbing the president's words and looking dignified.

When they got to their seats last night for the president’s speech to a joint session of Congress, numerous members logged into their Twitter accounts and began offering live – and sometimes ill advised – updates.

Some lawmakers, such as Earl Blumenauer (D-OR), were straightforward, The New York Times reports, posting observations such as "Some Republican Senators are standing and clapping, including McCain."

Others used the medium to be snarky. As Politico pointed out, Representative Joe Barton (R-TX) posted this: "Aggie basketball game is about to start on espn2 for those of you that aren't going to bother watching pelosi smirk for the next hour."

And a few minutes later, this retraction: "Disregard that last Tweet from a staffer."

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