I just heard it again. He said “FINERY”.
“...as President Obama surveys the Waldorf banquet room with everyone in white tie and refinery [finery], you have to wonder what he’s thinking. So little time, so much to redistribute.”
Definition of FINERY: ornament, decoration; especially, dressy or showy clothing and jewels:
http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/finery
Yeah, I figured he must have meant “finery,” and I wondered if he misspoke or if the transcriber was just trying to make him look dumb.