The shark-infested waters of Washington society are repleat with fish tales – who thought up which idea the President loved, who leaked what story, who coined that famous phrase. Rumors abound of devious social climbing tactics. Switching place cards to ensure more politically advantageous seating happens, nor is party crashing (of the Hill reception 500-people-cramed-in-a-room kind) beyond the pale. But in a historic city where everything’s been done before, crashing State dinners at the White House is a new, abysmal first.
The Salahis little que sera sera social slip-in has implications far beyond their pathetic attempt at getting their 15 minutes (one can only hope they are lying stark awake in their grossly over mortgaged Front Royal mansion, praying it doesn’t get them 15 years). Photos from the event reveal that a more criminal climber could have dusted everyone from Obama to Biden with, say, anthrax, instead of kisses.
Currently, the White House Social Office is not taking the blame – nor is it apparent they should – and the Secret Service is eating humble pie for Thanksgiving leftovers. But here’s what I want to know: who cleared them into the White House? Consider: the Salahi’s procured an Indian style sari for Mrs. Salahi, informed the camera crew of Housewives where they were going, were filmed making extensive preparations, and finally, heading off to the White House. Surely they didn’t go to all that trouble and publicity on the mere HOPE that they would somehow evade detection by one of the world’s most elite security squads. While the Salahis only implied they were invited to the dinner (in response to questions from WaPo and others) they clearly expected to get INSIDE the White House. There are any number of reasons for clearing someone into the building, from meetings to tours, and there’s no reason to expect that the Secret Service at the gate admitted two complete strangers, or that the Salahis materialized out of a secret passage a la Vince Flynn. My two cents? A White House staffer was in cahoots, cleared them in, and then chose to look the other way when they “ended up” in the general area of the event, at which point they were convincing enough to be admitted.
That staffer should be routed out and summarily fired. But that isn’t enough. The Salahis must be charged too, if only to keep them from using this scandal to catapult them to reality TV superstardom (and to encourage other pathetic would-be’s to stay home). There’s a marked difference in social standing between the “daring couple who caused a social scene via ‘last-minute attending’” and the “fortune-hungry fools being prosecuted by the Secret Service.” In this real-life reality show, I hope it’s very much the latter.
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