The new 'White House gatecrasher' crisis
It turns out that a yet another social climber crashed Obama's first state dinner. Now is it time for heads to roll?
Tareq and Michaele Salahi weren't the only uninvited guests who slipped through security at President Obama's first state dinner in November — Washington D.C. party promoter and online publisher Carlos Allen did, too. Allen reportedly arrived in a van with a group of Indian CEOs. While the Salahis' gate-crashing was treated with a mixture of gossipy amusement and alarm, the revelation that Allen also fooled Secret Service protocols has many people asking whether White House security problem is larger than first thought. (Watch an AP report about Carlos Allen)
Obama needs to fire some people: Somebody needs to take the fall for this "appalling breach of security," says Sally Quinn in The Washington Post. And if Obama doesn't fire White House social secretary Desiree Rogers or Secret Service head Mark Sullivan, "the president gets the blame." And if we've learned anything about Team Obama these last few months, it's that its members "would rather lay low and let Barack Obama be the target."
"Time for accountability at the White House"
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This was more amusing the first time around: The news of a third party-crasher "might have made for a fun (ish) follow-up headline just a short month or so ago," says Glynnis MacNicol in Mediaite. But after the "Christmas/Underwear bomber" episode, the fact that the Salahis were not the only uninvited guests allowed near the president "is actually not that funny. Or at all funny."
"Secret Service confirms third White House party crasher"
Same problem, different agency: "The State Department is getting blamed for the security lapse" this time, says Alex Koppelman in Salon. But Carlos Allen's gate-crashing still raises big questions about security at the White House. Also, "unfortunately, this probably means even more stories about the Salahis, whose 15 minutes really should have been up by now."
"A third party crasher at state dinner"
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