White House Party Crashers Were Up Close with the President... What If?

When the news hit our television screens that Tareq and Michaele Salahi entered the halls of President Obama's first state dinner without their names on the guests' list, the Secret Service spokesperson, Ed Donovan, said in effect, 'The President was never in any danger.' Take that to mean the sneaky couple never came anywhere near the president, though they photo-opted with Vice President Biden.

That story has changed. The truth bottle has ruptured, and it could not have been more embarrassing to the Secret Service and to the Obama Administration by extension.

Here is photo-proof that Mr. & Mrs. Salahi met face to face with the President at the state dinner:

Talk about up close and personal...

Why is this a big deal?

True, the Salahis probably did not mean any harm to the President or to anyone else in the hall that night. However, there are certain scary "what if" scenarios that we can't help but entertain.

What if one of the Salahis had pulled out an object and attacked the President? What if Mrs. Salahi had poison or a nano-weapon somewhere on her body? What if Mr. Salahi had punched the President? What if he had grabbed the President in a sudden headlock and put the choke hold?

What if the Salahis or someone within the Secret Service did this to prime the notion of an incompetent administration, which happens to be headed by a black man? What if this was done to feed the stereotype of the incompetent black man? How do we know that had nothing to do with it?

Or perhaps it is not a racial but a political stereotype in play: That as a general rule, a liberal administration cannot be trusted with security functions of the United States, that liberals are naturally soft or even careless on matters of security. For those who tote that line of thinking, this White House security breach is a microcosm of the larger national security vulnerability facing the whole nation in the hands of Mr. Obama and his pack of "watchdogs".

Even scarier... what if a potential assassin takes a clue from the Salahi's playbook? What if a murder-type takes keen interest in slipping through the cracks at the next White House get-together? Even if the Salahis were helped into crashing the party, who is to say the same helper(s) might not give a would-be assassin access to the President?

While there is mounting noise about potential felony charges being brought against the infamous party-crashing couple, the bigger story here is incompetence or betrayal within the ranks of the Secret Service. I would be very shocked if no one gets fired over this. If the President thinks for a minute that this is no big deal, he'd better think again. Beyond his own safety, this debacle reaches the symbolism of the office. This is about respect for the presidency of the United States, and THAT, my friend, is no laughing matter.

» left by Marijo Phelps

2 years 174 days ago.
143 fans.

Great piece and scary potential problems. Your assessment that someone should be fired are warranted - unbelievable. Marijo

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» left by Mogama 2 years 173 days ago.
117 fans. Follow Mogama on twitter!

There is speculation that the White House may prefer to sweep this thing under the rug. Bad idea. Thanks for commenting. ~mogama~

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» left by Carolyn Tytler 2 years 173 days ago.
32 fans.

A very well-written article, Mogama. Let's hope the Secret Service is immediately restored to its former efficiency.

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» left by Mogama 2 years 172 days ago.
117 fans. Follow Mogama on twitter!

Yes, that's the word, "efficiency". Thanks, Carolyn, for commenting. ~mogama~

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» left by Steve Kovacs

2 years 172 days ago.
96 fans. Follow Steve Kovacs on twitter!

Hi Mogama,

 

All your questions are worth pondering. They are valid thoughts to be bantered about. From what we know thus far (which possibly is not much until the investigation is completed) the Secret Service dropped the ball in a huge way. I believe or will go out on a limb a tad and say if things appear as they do now people will get fired. It is outrageous and simply unacceptable for anyone to be able to get into the White House so easily.  I'm curious what the facts of the investigation turn out to be. Thanks for sharing your viewpoints/concerns. 

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» left by Mogama 2 years 171 days ago.
117 fans. Follow Mogama on twitter!

Thanks, Steve, for your input. ~mogama~

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