The resident Obama expert at the White House weighs in on "the sport of ruining people"Flotus Daily writer and Chicago Sun-Times Washington bureau chief Lynn Sweet has been following President Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama exclusively for almost three years, since Mr. Obama was Candidate Obama. Sweet doesn't hesitate to send criticism Obamaward when she believes it's due, but Sweet has just posted one of the few in-defense-of-Desiree Rogers columns to appear in mainstream media. (Photo: Rogers at the State Dinner)
Sweet maintains that Rogers does not deserve to have her entire professional reputation on the line because of the security breach at the State Dinner, and notes that Rogers has managed about 170 events at the White House since Jan. 21, without a single problem: Bill signings, the 2009 Easter Egg Roll, St. Patrick's Day and Halloween parties, a breast cancer awareness event, the White House music series, and a high-profile dinner for the nation's governors. Rogers has also been crucial to including students from area schools in most of these events, something that has transformed the White House. (Rogers, above)
On the ongoing character attacks on Rogers, Sweet notes:
The events that have unfolded in the past few days, and the attacks on Rogers, reminded me of a line in the 1993 suicide note left by Vincent Foster, the deputy counsel in the Clinton White House, who observed that in Washington, "ruining people is considered sport."
Sweet writes that the Secret Service, not Rogers, is "ultimately responsible" for not letting uninvited guests into any White House events, whether it's Trick or Treating or State Dinners. This is the position the White House maintains; there's across-the-board support for Rogers internally. Sweet recently chatted with Senior White House Adviser David Axelrod, who went on the record with:
"No doubt there were some screw-ups, probably enough to go around," Axelrod said. "That does not obviate the fact she has done a good job on the core mission of her office." She is getting a bum rap, he said. "It is ludicrous for anyone to assume she is less concerned about the president's security than anybody else."
Sweet also debriefs Rogers's ex husband, John Rogers, who notes that
"It is disheartening to see how some people have totally mischaracterized her [Rogers] character and work habits. The bottom line is she is an extraordinarily hard worker committed to excellence."
Sweet closes by holding that Rogers sitting down to dine at the State Dinner didn't matter in the least as far as the security breach:
...To that I say a big SO WHAT when it comes to the Salahi incident. A reception preceded the dinner. By the time anyone sat down to eat the damage was done. The Salahis had shaken hands with the president, worked their way down the receiving line, and had gotten their bragging rights pictures. Whether or not a social secretary should eat with the guests -- many other Obama staffers were at this dinner by the way -- is a minor question that does not relate to the security issue.
*A Saturday Night Live spoof of the Crash is here; the last StateGate updates are here and here.
*Rogers photo by Gerald Herbert/AP
