Something Crass This Way Comes
I don't know what else to add. The Salahis may very well be supporters of President Obama. Too bad their quest for fame and for status have inadvertently cheapened the office of the presidency. Too bad their actions have exposed a glaring fault in the way that the Secret Service is protecting the President. I don't think anyone--anyone--could have gotten this close to President Bush by lying their way or bluffing their way past a Secret Service check point. And then to stand there, and shake his hand, while he stands next to another head of state?
Where is your shame, ma'am? Where is your sense of personal shame and responsibility? Do you have no idea what you did? Are you that irresponsible and childish and caught up in yourself that you can't think past your own cloying attempt at getting on a television show or elevating your status in the rarified air of D-list Washington D.C. celebrity?
What makes this different is that it happened at the White House. At a political function elsewhere in the country? Still not good, but that places the story in a slightly different context. This was a state dinner where an important ally, India, was feted. And how do you think they feel, given the past year of heightened anxiety in India after the Mumbai attacks, to see that these cheap, unsavory people were able to get this close to the President and their Prime Minister?
This was a stunt gone awry, and it happened because of a sickening quest for fame and attention and status. If I were the President, I would wonder what the hell is going on with the Secret Service. I would expect people to be fired or disciplined here. I don't think a reasonable American would conclude that this was a harmless gatecrashing prank or something funny. I think this was a very serious breach of security, happening at a very tense time in American history.
