On November 24, President Obama and first lady Michelle Obama hosted their first official State Dinner for Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and his wife Gursharan Kaur of India. The menu: vegetarian-inspired in honor of the Prime Minister -- prepared with the help of guest chef Marcus Samuelsson of New York's Aquavit restaurant. Entertainment: after dinner performances included the National Symphony Orchestra conducted by Marvin Hamlisch, Jennifer Hudson, A.R. Rahman, and Indian-themed dancers. The venue: a tent on the South Side of the White House for 339 guests.
Well, maybe increase that count to 341. By now I'm sure many of you have heard about the White House State Dinner crashers. Regardless of the nature of the show, reality TV stars and their wannabes are probably cut from a similar breed. I'll avoid naming both so that they're not given extra visibility.
You have to wonder, how did they get in? Perhaps it's because Secret Service were assigned the welcome table rather than event staff. Armed with an attendee list and directions not to allow anyone but official guests to pass, the right event coordinator will greet everyone upon arrival, but never allow anyone into the event without proper invitations and identification.
Check out Lindsay Pellagrino's video on the basics of assembling an event guest list.
Photo courtesy of Andrew Harrer-Pool / Getty Images
Upon hearing of this incident I was quite shocked. When an event of this caliber takes place each detail, including the guest list, should be taken quite seriously. For a couple to have the ability to wonder in unnoticed really questions the security and organization of the event.