W.H. Social Secretaries: Divas Need Not Apply
As daring Desiree Rogers, the infamous White House social secretary prepares to dash out of the White House for not doing her job of minding guest lists and things, now is a good time to review the dos and don'ts of what makes a good social secretary. It's probably a given that Julianna Smoot, the newly named social secretary won't step into Rogers’ high-heeled fashionista shoes but a little friendly advice never hurt anyone.
First and foremost, the White House Social Secretary should be almost invisible, something akin to a Greek chorus, whose sole role is to make the stars -- President and Mrs. Obama -- shine brightly at state dinners and other White House events. As a supporting cast member, it would certainly be inappropriate for her to act as guest at any state dinner and promenade in front of the press, pausing for photos in a dress that gets more attention than the First Lady's. Conceited and interested in self-promotion she must not be, as this is a recipe for disaster. The ultimate compliment to a White House social secretary is having guests and the media gush post-event at how wonderful it all was whilst never uttering a word about the social secretary, much less her name.
Making a list and checking it twice! That's right the social secretary should be highly organized and consuming herself with every detail of a state dinner from guests lists and social security numbers to tasting soup and conferring with the florist to ensure the First Lady's vision for the evening is executed flawlessly. It would probably be a good idea for her office and staff to have several meetings with the Secret Service prior to any state dinner to ensure all security aspects of the evening have been covered. She would also assign a member of her staff with the guest list to each entrance and man the receiving line herself.
How should the social secretary dress? As a woman who loves high fashion, I don't think there is anything wrong with the White House social secretary dressing well but she should be mindful her choices don't become the center of attention for the news media. This can be avoided by not posing for magazine articles in the First Lady's garden, clad with Cartier diamonds and couture dresses costing thousands of dollars and by not wearing a diaphanous Comme des Garcons dress to the first state dinner.
Finally, even if you do more than 330 White House events in a year well, but acting like a diva, you'll make a big mistake as Desiree Rogers did by allowing the Salahis to crash President Obama's' first state dinner and that's all you and your other good events will be remembered for. (In an interview with the Wall Street Journal Magazine last year, Rogers said she didn't want to "get caught in linen hell and flower hell, list hell." I bet she wishes she had.)
If Ms. Smoot keeps her "humbled" attitude as she described in accepting the job as new White House social secretary and minds the napkins, lists and gates, I'm confident she'll do a great job and go down in history as other social secretaries have before her -- nameless but not forgotten.