RSS Feed MenuAs daring Desiree Rogers, the infamous White House social secretary prepares to dash out of the White House for not doing her job of minding guest lists and things, now is a good time to review the dos and don’ts of what makes a good social secretary. It’s probably a given that Julianna Smoot, the newly named social secretary won’t step into Rogers’ high-heeled fashionista shoes but a little friendly advice never hurt anyone.
First and foremost, the White House Social Secretary should be almost invisible, something akin to a Greek chorus, whose sole role is to make the stars — President and Mrs. Obama — shine brightly at state dinners and other White House events. As a supporting cast member, it would certainly be inappropriate for her to act as guest at any state dinner and promenade in front of the press, pausing for photos in a dress that gets more attention than the First Lady’s. Conceited and interested in self-promotion she must not be, as this is a recipe for disaster. The ultimate compliment to a White House social secretary is having guests and the media gush post-event at how wonderful it all was whilst never uttering a word about the social secretary, much less her name.
Making a list and checking it twice! That’s right the social secretary should be highly organized and consuming herself with every detail of a state dinner from guests lists and social security numbers to tasting soup and conferring with the florist to ensure the First Lady’s vision for the evening is executed flawlessly. It would probably be a good idea for her office and staff to have several meetings with the Secret Service prior to any state dinner to ensure all security aspects of the evening have been covered. She would also assign a member of her staff with the guest list to each entrance and man the receiving line herself.
How should the social secretary dress? As a woman who loves high fashion, I don’t think there is anything wrong with the White House social secretary dressing well but she should be mindful her choices don’t become the center of attention for the news media. This can be avoided by not posing for magazine articles in the First Lady’s garden, clad with Cartier diamonds and couture dresses costing thousands of dollars and by not wearing a diaphanous Comme des Garcons dress to the first state dinner.
Finally, even if you do more than 330 White House events in a year well, but acting like a diva, you’ll make a big mistake as Desiree Rogers did by allowing the Salahis to crash President Obama’s’ first state dinner and that’s all you and your other good events will be remembered for. (In an interview with the Wall Street Journal Magazine last year, Rogers said she didn’t want to “get caught in linen hell and flower hell, list hell.” I bet she wishes she had.)
If Ms. Smoot keeps her “humbled” attitude as she described in accepting the job as new White House social secretary and minds the napkins, lists and gates, I’m confident she’ll do a great job and go down in history as other social secretaries have before her — nameless but not forgotten.
rbottoms // Mar 1, 2010 at 5:47 am
Hi, twenty million people are unemployed.
Who gives a crap about the White House social secretary?
Carney // Mar 1, 2010 at 9:50 am
What level of unemployment would be low enough for you to grant moral permission for others to discuss other topics? And, if greater than zero, how is that not, given your implicit premise, frivolous and callous?
GOProud // Mar 1, 2010 at 10:55 am
Wait, your advice to a social secretary is to focus on the guests, not self-promotion?
In the most self-centered, endlessly promoting, 24×7 campaign trail-like White House of ego-centric prima-donna “professionals” since SlickWilly managed the Oral Office?
You might as well suggest they act on behalf of America or they take their promise to be a public servant seriously or they actually respect and honor the traditions of the position. It would be as useless and likely fall on equally deaf ears.
The prez sets the tone –and his tone is all about Messiah worship and the Obami Cult is eager to kneel.
Rockerbabe // Mar 1, 2010 at 2:22 pm
We all make mistakes, that is how you learn. I guess Ms. Rogers was taking her cues from the previous social secretary and hamming it up. Afterall, isn’t that what the WH is for? The repugs certainly did more than enough self-promotion; most former WH Bushies now have 6 figure salaries for the “job” they did, so why are you advising a social secretary, when you have never done her job?
I’m sure Ms. Rogers will land on her feet when she exits the WH and I for one wish her well.
rbottoms // Mar 1, 2010 at 2:28 pm
The prez sets the tone –and his tone is all about Messiah worship and the Obami Cult is eager to kneel.
The stupification spell used by the previous occupant which allowed him to nearly lose two wars and shovel a trillion (1,000,000,000,000) into the furnace called Iraq before his adoring fans decided that President Flightsuit didn’t know beans about running a country must have worn off by now.
Our current president relies on actually reading proposed legislation preferring to make decisions based on what he knows and not his gut. Or looking into your soul or whatever.
Come the spring we’ll find out if the teabaggers have found out the government actually runs Medicare. They may have to find a new pilot to fly their airborne banners at their rallies though, seems their air force is one plane lighter these days.
Meanwhile, in other news the GOP continues its outreach to the gay and African-American communities.
State Sen. Jim Forrester apologized Thursday night for comments he made during a recent Iredell County Young Republicans meeting that took place in Mooresville.
Forrester, a Republican whose 41st District includes part of Iredell County, said he “didn’t mean to be mean-spirited” with comments he made about gays and blacks.
“I wasn’t trying to be ugly or anything like that, and if it came out that way, I apologize,” Forrester told the Gaston Gazette. “I was just expressing my opinion about the leadership in the General Assembly and the bills that are being passed. North Carolina is a conservative state. Most people are conservatives, and the leadership in Raleigh is liberal.”
Forrester raised eyebrows Tuesday night when he told the group that “slick city lawyers and homosexual lobbies and African American lobbies are running Raleigh.”
GOProud // Mar 1, 2010 at 5:04 pm
rbottoms, sigh, continues with the DailyKos speaking points: “The stupification spell used by the previous occupant which allowed him to nearly lose two wars…”
Far from it, my Obami boi. Bush won three wars: the WOT, the war in Iraq and the war in Afghanistan. Still hanging around the altar of the farLeft, I see.
Three wars. Won.
The first proven by keeping America safe from terrorist attack once the WOT was announced. Patriot Act, closing down the financial networks, working with allies to corral terrorists abroad, GITMO, military courts, etc. Won. By being successful.
The second proven in the fact that now even LyinJoeBiden wants to try to claim credit for Mission Accomplished in Iraq and Newsweek –no darling admirer of Bush or anything close to the GOP– in a feature story says the war in Iraq was won because of Bush’s leadership.
The third is proven in that Obama used the Cheney-Bush Secret Plan for nearly a year, crafted for the incoming Obama Administration, by the successful and far far better informed Bush-Cheney team. Obama even extended the plan by adopting the Bush-Cheney surge proposal from Iraq onto Afghanistan.
I would imagine that tomorrow morning we’ll see the specter of LyinJoeBiden trying to claim credit for winning that war, too. And the laughs will be as loud as the ones that accompany your DailyKos talking points, Obami boi.
sparty // Mar 1, 2010 at 7:26 pm
GOProud:
“Bush won three wars: the WOT, the war in Iraq and the war in Afghanistan. ”
Your foolishness brain my hurts.
teabag // Mar 1, 2010 at 7:53 pm
“Bush won three wars: the WOT, the war in Iraq and the war in Afghanistan. ”
HA,HA,HA,HA,HA,HA,HA,HA,HA,HA,HA,HA,HA,HA,HA,HA,HA,HA,HA,HA,HA,HA,HA,HA,HA,HA
HA,HA,HA,HA,HA,HA,HA,HA,HA,HA,HA,HA,HA,HA,HA,HA,HA,HA,HA,HA,HA,HA,HA,HA,HA,HA
HA,HA,HA,HA,HA,HA,HA,HA,HA,HA,HA,HA,HA,HA,HA,HA,HA,HA,HA,HA,HA,HA,HA,HA,HA,HA
The idiots delusion is complete.
rbottoms // Mar 2, 2010 at 3:39 am
Far from it, my Obami boi.
What is it with white people that they can’t win an argument without calling a black man nigger or boy?