I'd argue that in the nation's capital, most people don't know it. Moreover, not a single one of these "friends" is named. The only actual person named, contradicts the main narrative. I realize that this is a story about the "social secretary" and not an investigation of loose nukes--but that only makes the point. If you're not quoting people who have something to lose--friendship and social standing do not count-- you need to get these people on the record. Otherwise, you're just gossiping.
via ta-nehisicoates.theatlantic.com
Ta-Nehisi Coates articulates exactly what I have been thinking about the recent gleeful sniping at White House Social Secretary, Desirée Rogers. I believe the Secret Service should bear the brunt of the primary responsibility (as they have) for the security lapse that allowed Tareq and Michaele Salahi to intrude at the recent State Dinner for India. I also believe that it is perfectly reasonable to question why a member of the Rogers' staff was not stationed at each entrance with a guest list. But what is the purpose of constantly harping on the designer clothes that she chooses to wear (on her own dime, long before the Obamas were in the White House), her Vogue feature ("beating the first lady's appearance in the fashion bible by a month") or the WSJ magazine article where she dares to be photographed in (as so many are careful to mention) Cartier earrings and a Viktor & Rolf trench.The undercurrent in most of the backlash against Rogers is the fervent wish for her to fail (and by extension in the eyes of some critics, Michelle Obama). After all, she is not a "glittering blonde" and she is certainly no stranger to the spotlight, so she must be taken down a peg. The Who do you think you are? undercurrent has been there from the day Roger's position was announced. Think about it: Most stories you have heard involving black women this year have been about how nobody wants to date us, how we waste thousands of dollars trying to get "Good Hair" or how we are constantly absent or misrepresented in Hollywood or fashion magazines. A Desirée Rogers, well-educated, confident and good-looking, is still confusing and even offensive to some people (and not just white people) because she doesn't have "the look" of someone leading the life she lives. In fact, prior to the parade of stylish, educated black women who came in with the Obama administration, many people were quite comfortable in the notion that (multiple!) black women like this did not exist. The Obamas have known Desirée Rogers for more than twenty years and I doubt they would have tapped her for this position if they had a problem with her skills, style or personality - all things they knew about long before the rest of the world.
My primary concern with this debacle is that the Salahis do not get off scot-free. The three Secret Service agents who allowed the Salahi's into the dinner have been put on paid administrative leave until the end of the investigation.
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