Finger Pointing – Desiree Rogers Scapegoat or Responsible Party?
ARTICLE FROM POLITICS DAILY:
On Nov. 24, 2008, Desiree Rogers was tapped by then President-elect Barack Obama to be the new White House Social Secretary, working in an office of the East Wing overseen by First Lady Michelle Obama. The night before the announcement, Rogers and Mrs. Obama dined privately at the Mayflower Hotel in Washington, where they worked out the final details of the position that would transplant Rogers — a fixture in Chicago’s business, social, and political circles — into the highest profile job of her life
“During that discussion was when I started to have better understanding of what they had in mind for this post,” Rogers told me then.
I asked what that was. “This whole idea of having people feel comfortable, and having people be able to, in the warmth of wonderful surroundings, be able to develop relationships that are really deep is really what this is about.”
Fast forward exactly one year later, Nov. 24, 2009. The Obama White House is hosting its much anticipated first state dinner, honoring the Prime Minister of India and his wife. The dinner had been planned for months by Rogers’ social office operation, which collaborated with other White House personnel on the menu, the entertainment, and yes, the guest list — the one that did not include reality TV star aspirants Michaele and Tareq Salahi. By now you know what happened: the Salahis sailed past security checkpoints and crashed the party, meeting the president in a receiving line and posing for pictures with Vice President Joe Biden, Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel, and other celebrities. They posted their trophy photos on their Facebook page.
A Washington Post reporter recognized the couple when they walked by the Booksellers Row area of the White House, and thought it was odd that the Salahis were on the exclusive guest list, but it would not be clear to the White House until hours later what happened. Booksellers Row is where reporters were allowed to watch people arrive for the party. It’s also the corridor one has to cross to get from the East Wing to the West Wing.Just before the reception started, Rogers hurried past that spot, stopping for the cameras at the shouted requests of the press, with me being one of the shouters. It was the second time I saw Rogers that day. In the afternoon, she worked at Mrs. Obama’s state dinner preview event in the White House. As she was walking past the press at Booksellers Row, she confirmed to the reporter who asked that her dress was designed by Comme Des Garcons, offered an innocuous comment, hardly lingered, and was off. The Salahis would whiz by the cameras a short time later.
No one is downplaying the gravity of the security breach. The Secret Service immediately said it was their fault but a second storyline quickly developed: that Desiree Rogers shares some of the blame because she failed to post a staffer at the east portico entrance to the White House to check off the names of guests. Then a third storyline developed, along the lines of Rogers, gasp, took a seat at the state dinner. That’s just nonsense…. READ THE REST AT POLITICSDAILY.COM
