Let's try this one.
Posted on 11/29/2009 4:38:09 PM PST by kristinn
White House Social Secretary Desiree Rogers has been dodging the heat so far for her failure to ensure the first state dinner by the Obama administration went off without embarrassing the Obamas.
Worse still, her failure resulted in a potentially lethal security breakdown that has international repercussions.
Slowly the press, which adores Rogers almost as much as they adore her boss First Lady Michelle Obama, are beginning to look past the acknowledged faults of the Secret Service to Rogers' failed stewardship of the dinner.
Rebecca Dana and Lloyd Grove have a devastating article at the Daily Beast that noted several previous White House social and press secretaries who were aghast that Rogers was so derelict in her duties:
How on earth did it happen? Since when can someone throw on a red sari, knot a bowtie around her husband’s meaty neck and traipse into the White House, makeup artist and camera crew in tow? And—in a question asked over turkey and stuffing at the homes of several former White House social and press secretaries yesterday—where, oh where, was Desiree Rogers?
Breaking with tradition, Rogers was a guest to the state dinner, which honored Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and his wife. She arrived solo, in a cream-colored Comme de Garcons dress, a curious choice that has since been the subject of considerable sniping online.
In the past, White House social secretaries have worked, not partied, on the nights of major events, racing around to make sure everything is going according to plan. But Rogers has occupied a bigger spotlight than her predecessors, doing more interviews, making more public appearances, and generally cutting a more glamorous figure. Just a few weeks after President Obama swore the oath of office, Rogers turned up at New York Fashion Week, sitting in the front row of three shows and taking photographs with Anna Wintour. According to three former White House officials, Rogers made it clear from the beginning that her approach to running presidential social functions would be a sharp break from past custom.
In February, 2009, in a longstanding tradition, all of the former White House social secretaries gathered for a private luncheon at the Four Seasons to welcome Rogers to the post and pass on their collective wisdom. Said one person in attendance: “She was very friendly, but her position was clear: They’re different. They got here differently. These are different times. The old rules are going out and the new rules are being made up.” Rogers told the Associated Press Thursday that no one from her office had been at the security checkpoints to assist Secret Service members in managing the flow of guests and verifying their place on the list. The former White House officials, all from previous administrations, said they considered this a jaw-dropping oversight.
Michael "Spikey" Isikoff reported at Newsweek today that back in February Rogers had essentially eliminated the position of the person in her office assigned to greet guests at the gate to ensure things went smoothly.
Isikoff also reports the Obama administration is putting all blame on the Secret Service and is dismissing any inquiries as to the responsibilities that night of Desiree Rogers:
The White House staff member whose job was to supervise the guest list for state dinners and clear invitees into the events says she was stripped of most of her responsibilities earlier this year, prompting her to resign last June.
The account of Cathy Hargraves, who formerly served as White House "assistant for arrangements," raises new questions about whether changes that she says were made by President Obama's social secretary, Desiree Rogers, may have contributed to the security lapses...
Her job duties included overseeing the invitations for guests at state dinners and keeping track of RSVPs, she says. On the evening of state dinners, she says, she physically stood at the East Gate portico entrance and greeted each of the guests as they arrived, checking their names off a computerized printout of those who had been invited.
But when she met with Rogers last February and went over her job responsibilities, she says the new social secretary told her, "We don't feel we have a need for that anymore." Rogers's explanation, according to Hargraves: "In these economic times, I don't think we're going to have very many lavish expensive dinners. It wouldn't look very good."
A White House official (who asked not to be named because of the ongoing investigation) has refused to comment on any aspect of Hargraves account, saying, "it doesn't matter," because the Secret Service has already publicly apologized for violations of its own procedures that allowed the Salahis to crash the Tuesday night event.
In case Rogers is wondering what effective guest security at a presidential dinner is like, she can watch this video by Politico of herself and fellow Obama administration muckety-muck Valerie Jarrett being forced to present proper identification before they enter the magnetometers at the White House Correspondents Dinner last May at the Hilton Washington.
I detect the beginnings of a paunch. (pouch)
LOL!
I call this dress the “He loves me, he loves me NOT” dress. MO has probably plucked all the posies off this dress in her quest to find out the truth...WE could have told her, had she only asked!
Nipple displaced.
Minus the silly headgear, and switch the color to black, I would wear it. In New York, especially the East Village this would pass as normal dress.
OMG. I wonder how many they sold. And how much Ms. Bam gets per doll.
Let's try this one.
LOL
http://blogs.suntimes.com/sweet/2008/12/advice_to_desiree_rogers_obama.html
Advice to Desiree Rogers, Obama White House social secretary: “make nice to the people that are working there.”
By
Lynn Sweet
on December 1, 2008
WASHINGTON —Dipping into their close circle of Chicago friends to find the new White House social secretary, President-elect Barack Obama and wife Michelle named business executive Desiree Rogers to the job Monday.
Rogers, 49, is a former Illinois Lottery director, Peoples Energy chief and current president of Allstate Financial’s Internet play, who has been a major social and civic figure in Chicago for years.
Rogers will have one of the most important jobs in the East Wing — the domain of the first lady — which oversees the social events in the White House.
“She just has this great ability to do things world class,” said her former husband, John Rogers, another close friend of the Obamas who will be one of the Inauguration co-chairs. The Rogers have a daughter, Victoria, 18, a Yale freshman.
Desiree met Michelle Obama through John — he attended Princeton with Michelle’s brother Craig Robinson and later met Barack. Rogers would go on to become close friends with Valerie Jarrett, who grew up on the same block on South Greenwood Avenue as John Rogers.
President-elect Obama tapped Jarrett to be one of his senior advisers on her birthday Nov. 14, and that night the Obamas attended a party for her at Rogers’ Astor Street co-op.
The next evening, Rogers was in Washington, dining at the home of former Clinton White House Social Secretary Ann Stock to learn more about the position. On Sunday night, the deal was sealed over a meal in the private dining room of the Mayflower Hotel here with Michelle.
(snip)
Another person Rogers turned to for advice is Ann Jordan, who, with husband Vernon are fixtures in Washington society — she is also Jarrett’s cousin as well as a trustee emeriti at the University of Chicago.
“One of the things [Jordan] said is, ‘Desiree, you really have to make nice with the people that are working there. They’ve been there for many years.’ “
I thought this chick was sposed to be the Social Secretary —— not a social butterfly who plays Dress-UP in designer gowns and attends events. For instance, how many state events did any of Jacki O’s Social Secretaries ever attend?
WHO dat????!!
Reminds me of the time I was high on peyote, covered myself in rubber cement and rolled around in a pile of plastic shopping bags.
Yeeeaaarggghh! What is she trying to do, give Meeichelle a run for her money?
omg, lolololol - roflolol, how dare you make me laFF so hard, LOLOLO
Whoever did her makeup in this pic is a genius.
Here's what she really looks like.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/04/us/politics/04disclose.html
Millionaires work in a variety of positions across the administration, and they include Desiree Rogers , the White House social secretary. Ms. Rogers , a close Chicago friend of the Obama family, reported income of $2.3 million last year. She earned a salary of $1.8 million from People’s Gas & North Shore Gas, along with three other sources of income from serving on insurance company boards.
.
Piper unwraps his present.....
Why does Michelle have a smile in post #70? I almost didn’t recognize her without the scowl.
Why does Michelle have a smile in post #70? I almost didn’t recognize her without the scowl.
that is suppose to be wintour..I suppose when she was MUCH younger.
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