"Desiree Rogers leaving White House" Salon~

[Cha]

<snip>

"The White House social secretary was trying to show she meant business. A month before, she'd been caught in a silly inside-the-Beltway "scandal," as the permanent establishment in Washington teamed up with blame-Obama-first right-wing blogs to declare that the stunt pulled by the party-crashing Salahis somehow reflected poorly on President Obama and Michelle Obama. Allegedly, Rogers had violated all kinds of rules by actually attending the state dinner the Obamas threw for Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. So by the time the holidays rolled around, Rogers was clearly going out of her way to demonstrate that she was at those receptions to work, not to play."

<snip>

"Technically, Rogers reports to the first lady, not to the president. But don't put it past conservative blogs or Fox News to use this departure as yet another sign that the White House is in great turmoil. After all, as the social office goes, so goes healthcare reform!

<snip>


"Update 2: A statement from the Obamas, just out from the White House:"

"We are enormously grateful to Desiree Rogers for the terrific job she’s done as the White House Social Secretary. When she took this position, we asked Desiree to help make sure that the White House truly is the People’s House, and she did that by welcoming scores of everyday Americans through its doors, from wounded warriors to local schoolchildren to NASCAR drivers. She organized hundreds of fun and creative events during her time here, and we will miss her. We thank her again for her service and wish her all the best in her future endeavors."

<more>

I too wish her well..and thank Desiree Rogers for her awesome contribution to making the Obama White House..The People's House:patriot::patriot:
http://www.salon.com/news/politics/war_room/2010/02/26/rogers

[Number23]

1. First Van Jones and now Desiree. I don't like this one bit

I liked her. She, Valerie Jarrett, Susan Rice, Hillary and (of course) Michelle make up my Washington dream team. I'd pay beaucoup dinero to sit at the knee of any of these women and be mentored (especially by Susan Rice).

[goclark]

3. I am posting a thread about the NAACP Image Awards

here at BOG in a few minutes.

Read it to find out about Van Jones amd especially the part about his love and admiration for President Obama.

When you read the link, read WHY he was given the NAACP "President's Award" from the phenomenal National NAACP President ~ Benjamin Todd Jealous!
Our family is so proud of BTJ, yes we are.... ~ :hug:

:bounce:

http://bigsole.blogspot.com/2010/02/van-jones-accepts-naacp-award-with.html

[Number23]

5. Good grief, he sounds wonderful. I think I'm in love

"President Barack Obama who is a world class leader, a man who volunteered to be the captain of the Titanic after it hit the iceberg, and we're still floating, and we're still floating. Let's stay with this president!"

"I'm not mad at anybody, and I still believe in the politics of hope. I still believe! You can't take that from me. You can't take it from me."

He's married, I'm married but do you think he'll have me anyway?? Maybe we could move to Utah. That would solve all of our problems.

I knew he was a very smart man, but to be so supportive of our President now just cements it as far as I'm concerned. I read that Van has bounced back higher than before. I truly wish him all of the best and am happy that he is on our side. He's one of the good guys.

[goclark]

6. Classic ~ "volunteered to be the Captain of the Titantic..."

AFTER it hit the iceberg!"

:bounce:

That line says it all ~ and the delivery that Van Jones gave it is a Must See Video!


Yes, yes yes!

[FrenchieCat]

2. Classy innovative lady with impeccable taste, too good for Washington.....

I'm starting to believe the Obamas are too! :(

[Cha]

4. Like it's been reported..Desiree Rogers'

goal was to make the White House the People's House and she did.

My understanding is that she was only going to orignally stay for about a year so it will be interesting to see who is next chosen for this very creative demanding job.

[goclark]

7. Sure will miss her ~ hard to replace

Ms. Rogers!

:cry:

[Cha]

8. QUOTE OF THE DAY~ Krugman observing Round Table on Desiree Rogers.

".... ABC's "This Week" held its usual roundtable discussion this morning, with Elizabeth Vargas hosting a panel of Cokie Roberts, Sam Donaldson, George Will, and Paul Krugman.

The last topic of conversation was introduced by Vargas this way:

"f course, this weekend, we have a brand-new White House social secretary appointed to replace Desiree Rogers, a close friend of the Obamas who is exiting after a bumpy tenure, I would say. Cokie, you spoke with her. She -- she was highly criticized after the Obamas' first state dinner in which she arrived, looking absolutely gorgeous, but in what some people later said was far too fancy a dress, but most importantly, that was the state dinner that was crashed by the Salahis, who walked in without an invitation when the social secretary's office didn't have people manning the security sites."


This led to a surprisingly long chat about Desiree Rogers.

Krugman sat silently while the discussion went on (and on), before eventually interjecting:

"Can I say that 20 million Americans unemployed, the fact that we're worrying about the status of the White House social secretary....


Donaldson responded, "Paul, welcome to Washington."

Look, I realize that not every discussion on a show like this is going to be substantive, sophisticated, and policy focused. Not every post I write for this site is going to highlight critically important issues, either. There's nothing wrong with including heavier and lighter subjects in the same public affairs forum.

But this panel discussion covered exactly four subjects this morning: health care reform, Charlie Rangel's ethics problem, David Paterson's latest troubles, and the fate of the former White House social secretary (and where she's from, what her clothes looked like, what her next job is likely to be, etc.), which hardly seems relevant to anyone who doesn't actually attend social events at the White House.

In this same discussion, there was nothing about the jobs bill that passed the Senate this week, nothing about the incredibly important Zazi guilty plea this week (and the fact that it makes Republican talking points look ridiculous), nothing about Jim Bunning single-handedly delaying unemployment insurance for those who need it.

I wonder, who was the target audience for the discussion of Desiree Rogers, who most Americans have never heard of, and whose White House position has nothing to do with public policy? The general public or the D.C. cocktail circuit crowd?

"Krugman no doubt annoyed the show's producers by mentioning the inanity of the subject matter, but he's right to remind his colleagues of what matters. For Donaldson to "welcome" him "to Washington" was insulting -- to Krugman and the rest of us." {(Oh, I hope so":Cha)

—Steve Benen 2:40 PM Permalink | Trackbacks | Comments (0)
http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/

Good on Krugman..and may I just say..it isn't mentioned that Desiree was to be in that postition long enough to make it the People's House and she did it.

Creepy Washington gossip aside.