Free Republic

You know the basics. The unemployment rate is 9.9 percent. Jobs are still being lost. Worries about the global economy are causing breathtaking volatility on Wall Street. And millions of Americans who still have jobs are worrying more than ever about the safety of their retirement savings. What you may not know is that, during this moment of terrible economic anxiety, the Obama White House found the time -- and the money -- to turn itself, at least for a night, into a showcase of glitzy extravagance. On May 19, the White House held a state dinner for Mexican President...

UPDATED FROM TUESDAY VERSION ABOUT RICK BAYLESS GUEST CHEFFING AT THE WHITE HOUSE WITH CLARIFICATION.... Clarification: Bayless at Gapers Block said he did not send his tweets from the White House kitchen. Bayless also sent a tweet out about my post. To clarify: Bayless tweeted about the upcoming dinner and about the White House kitchen, but not from the White House kitchen. My apology. The lede below is what appeared in the print editions. WASHINGTON -- Rick Bayless, the Chicago superstar chef, was tweeting from the White House kitchen about today's Obama White House state dinner honoring Mexican President Felipe...