Did You Hear?
By all accounts, the Obama Administration's State Dinner honoring Indian Prime Minister Monmohan Singh and his wife was a HUGE success - except for a security breach so blatant, so preventable it boggles the mind.
Apparently, the two of the boldest people in recorded human history pimped up to the huge tent that had been setup on the White House lawn for the star-studded hoe-down, and finessed their way in. That's after making their way on the grounds undetected, and somehow convincing guards on the grounds that they belonged there even though their names did not appear on a list. That's right - they were not on the guest list, they did not have an invitation, and yet somehow they were able to sneak their way past multiple levels of security to gain entrance into this ultra exclusive event, and to within striking distance of President and Mrs. Obama. WTF?!?
I'm not clear - how is it possible that the Secret Service could allow two uninvited guests, ANY two uninvited guests to get that close to this President? You know the one I mean, the first African American to hold the office, the one President who has received more death threats in less than a year than any in history - him?
If it weren't so eggregious it would almost be comical. I have to laugh, because it reminds me so much of one of my favorite movies, "National Treasure II, Book of Secrets?" It stars Nicolas Cage as the leader of a bold and clever treasure hunting team who use historical references to all things related to the United States to look for treasures and other important but mostly fictional crap. In this sequel to the original "National Treasure" film, Nicolas Cage crashes a White House event in order to get close to the President so that he can ask him a question critical to gaining a new clue that will get him closer to the treasure he seeks. In his defense, he's also trying to clear his family name, but that's not important right now.
Okay - so this dude literally walks out of nowhere past a Secret Service agent and right onto the grounds of this exclusive birthday party being thrown in honor of the fictional President. And I LOVE this movie, right? But I promise you, this scene is the ONE scene in the movie that always makes me go, "Oh yeah, like he could ever get to the President THAT easily!"
But alas and alack, apparently I was wrong. Now I'm thinking that the writers of "National Treasure" knew what we all now know - that the Secret Service (who by the way has never ever been that friggin' secret) could use a serious refresher on "Protecting the President from Dangers Unseen, 101", or "Guestlists and How They're Applied in Protecting the President 104", or "Invitations and Their Use During Important State Events 201". I could do this all night.
I joke, but the truth is, this is no laughing matter. Luckily, this couple (whose names I refuse to use out of respect for my own disgust with them) did not seek to harm the President or the Vice President either, which is a good thing since they could be seen posing with Vice President Biden on a photo that was released later after their ruse was discovered. But I gotta tell you, I sincerely hope that somewhere tonight in Washington, there is a Secret Service agent or two, or maybe a Social Secretary or other White House event planning rookie up to their necks in trouble, wondering why they're about to lose the job of a lifetime because they didn't have the stones to tackle two criminally delusional party crashers at the White House front gates. It makes absolutely no sense whatsoever. Hit me on the comment line - what do you YOU think of all this?
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