Saturday, December 05, 2009

Obama Social Secretary: 'Sure, I Let People In the White House All the Time'

Of course, now she claims she's just joking. Which must be the reason why the most unprecedented, transparent White House ever won't allow her to appear before Congress. Not that they have anything to hide. Because they're more transparent than anyone ever before. It's unprecedented or something.
President Obama's social secretary quipped that she regularly let event crashers into White House gatherings -- months before two reality-TV wannabes waltzed into last week's state dinner.

Desiree Rogers claimed in an interview with the trade magazine BizBash at the Creative Coalition's annual meeting in June that she had added extra tables and benches at every event to accommodate uninvited guests.

"Lots of people just come anyways," she said. "They won't take no for an answer. Finally, I just said, 'All right, come on in. It's no use kicking you out.' "

But an administration official yesterday insisted that Rogers "was clearly making a tongue-in-cheek comment about White House staff, already cleared to be on the complex," not about the general public.
Regular comedians, these people. Know this much, though. Rogers isn't going anywhere. She has the most important job function at the White House: Planning parties.
While the first lady has been up to her elbows plucking vegetables from the White House garden, Rogers has planned nearly 200 elegant parties and social events.

Regardless of her title, over the years, Rogers' name has shown up most often in the society columns.

So it isn't surprising that Rogers would bask in the glory of being a VIP at one of the world's most exclusive event.

Her sin was forgetting that her paid job is to make sure the president and first lady look good at every social function.

Frankly, there's real trouble brewing when the social secretary's public persona begins to overshadow that of the first lady.
They're not even in office a year and there have been 200 elegant parties?

Meanwhile, spokesclown Robert Gibbs reveal himself to be a jerk of the highest order with his condescending treatment of a femaler reporter.
White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs and American Urban Radio’s White House Correspondent April Ryan have long had a contentious relationship. An exchange they had yesterday has started to garner some attention, including on Thursday’s "Daily Show with John Stewart."

Ryan had a heated back-and-forth with Gibbs over whether White House Social Secretary Desiree Rogers overstepped her bounds in the “Gate-Crash-gate” incident and was pressing Gibbs on the subject through repeated questions.

“Some might have called her the belle of the ball, overshadowing the first lady,” Ryan said.

Gibbs said he hadn’t heard that criticism before.

Ryan continued in her questioning, asking whether Rogers had invited herself to the first state dinner.

Gibbs shrugged it off, then told Ryan to calm down and take a deep breath.

“This happens with my son. He does the same thing,” Gibbs said, referring to his young child. It drew ooohs from the press corps.

“Don’t play with me,” Ryan said.

Some are alleging sexism because Gibbs told a female reporter to calm down.

“There have been heated exchanges in the White House briefing room before but I have never seen Gibbsy talk down to one of the members of the WH Press Corps in that manner,” wrote blogger Emokidsloveme. “He treated her as if she were a petulant child and hasn’t been called to the carpet on his behavior.”

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