White House Social Secretary and close friend of the Obama family, Desiree Rogers, has resigned after overseeing 330 events in 14 months.
The resignation comes just months after the whole Salahi incident in which the infamous couple crashed the State Dinner. Desiree was highly criticized for her role in the major breach of security.
However, there was no mention of the Salahi’s when she spoke with Lynn Sweet, “This is a good time for me to explore opportunities in the corporate world.” When I took on this assignment, we talked about the importance of creating the people’s house. My work has really to create this framework. I think I complete that work. Our office has been able to lay the foundation for what will be known as the ‘people’s house’ and it has already taken shape.”
Her replacement is Julianna Smoot who was behind the President’s fundraising operation.
The cast of FOX’s hit series, “Glee Club,” has been invited by the First Lady to perform at the annual White House Easter Egg Roll on April 5th. It has been reported Michelle, Sasha, and Malia are huge fans of the show. The producers must be fans of the White House too–they’re going to adjust their production schedule to accomodate the request.
In other TV news, Mike Huckabee’sinterview with Michelle scored his “Huckabee” show its lowest ratings ever. Interesting but not all that surprising.
The First Couple hosted their second Governors’ Ball yesterday (Sunday, February 21, 2010). Earlier in the day, the First Lady hosted a musical preview of the Governors’ Ball for Washington, DC’s Miner Elementary School’s glee club members. Harry Connick, Jr. spoke to the students about this love of music and his hometown, New Orleans. The kids were also treated to a musical set with the singer and his band.
Later, the nation’s governors and their spouses attended the annual black-tie event in the White House’s State Dining Room. The menu included traditional fare such as rib eye roast and baked Alaska. As far as the First Lady’s attire – it looks like she had a change of heart. At the preview, she said she would wear white but ended up wearing a black gown by Thakoon.
The highly-anticipated interview with Mike Huckabee and Michelle aired over the weekend on Fox News. It was a big shock the First Lady even agreed to the interview considering the network isn’t a big fan of the Obama administration. The 20-minute appearance was part of her media tour to promote her childhood obesity campaign, “Let’s Move.” Topics such as exercise and healthy eating were all discussed. Hear are some highlights:
Does she watch Fox News: The living quarters are a “news-free zone.” However, she noted she would watch her interview on Saturday.
Why did she choose to focus on childhood obesity: “…This is a solvable issue because it’s community based…it doesn’t require new technology or new research; we the solutions in our hand.”
“Huckabee” is a regular Fox News program hosted by the former Arkansas governor and possible 2012 Republican presidential nominee.
In honor of British fashion designer Alexander McQueen, who was found dead today, here are photos of the First Lady wearing some of his brilliant and bold designs.
Essence magazine is kicking off the first of its three-part education series, “Teaching Our Children,” with an interview with the First Couple (mostly the President). They discuss education and how they encourage First Daughters Sasha and Malia to love learning and excel academically.
This past Tuesday (February 9, 2010) the President and First Lady hosted “In Performance at the White House: A Celebration of Music from the Civil Rights Movement.” The concert will air tonight (February 11, 2010) at 8:00 PM on public broadcasting stations nationwide. The star-studded line-up includes Yolanda Adams, Natalie Cole, Bob Dylan, Jennifer Hudson, John Mellencamp, Smokey Robinson, Seal, and others. As emcee, Morgan Freeman read excerpts from famous civil rights speeches.
This concert is part of the White House Music Series Michelle launched last year which has included observation of country, jazz, classical music, and Latin music genres.
Over the past week we’ve seen the First Lady gearing up for her latest initiative – eliminating childhood obesity. She even went as far as using her daughters, Sasha and Malia, as examples of the “overweight” children according to their BMI.
Today she officially announced the “Let’s Move” campaign to an audience of children, educators, doctors, Cabinet secretaries, and other high profile folks. A task force has been established to submit a plan to the President within 90 days that outlines strategies to reach its ultimate goal – to eliminate childhood obesity within a generation.
Tonight at 9:00 PM EST, she’ll be on the Larry King show to talk about childhood obesity and of course the first family’s first year in the White House.
One of the First Lady’s top priorities has always been to provide support for military families. Keeping her promise, she announced last week that the administration’s budget proposal will include a record $8.8 billion for military family support programs. The programs’ objectives are to assist military spouses and their families with housing, child care, counseling, and other services.
During a “Today” interview shown last week, Michelle admitted to Matt Lauer she has “people” to pick at least a week’s worth of outfits for her so she won’t have to worry about what to wear each morning.
She is quite aware the entire world is interested in what she’s wearing (or not), she had this to say:
“I don’t think that much about the response to it. I wear what I like. I wear what’s comfortable.”
MTV’s hit reality show “Jersey Shore” is one of those shows that’s so trashy you can’t help but watch the incoming train wreck every week. Snookie and the rest of the cast literally have become overnight celebrities. The network and cast are currently negotiating contracts (i.e. paychecks) for season two.
In an interview with People, Michelle admits she’s heard of the show but “not seen it.”
So, what do they watch? Well, the First Couple watch ESPN’s SportsCenter in the morning while they work out together. Sasha and Malia can only watch Nickelodeon and Disney on the weekends.
Scott Baio, former star of “Charles in Charge,” attempted to be funny on Twitter by tweeting “WOW He wakes up to this every morning” and attaching an unflattering photo of the First Lady. The Republican actor found himself defending himself against fans and enemies alike who accused him of being racist and cruel. Baio has insisted the tweet was a joke. No word yet from the White House. Us Weekly has more on this story and picture (we decided not to post it).
In response to the tragic situation in Haiti, the First Couple have donated $15,000 from their personal bank account, a check written to the Clinton-Bush Haiti Fund. Here is the official statement:
“The President and First Lady have been inspired by the way that millions of Americans have responded with tremendous generosity to the Haiti crisis – even in these tough economic times,” White House spokesman Josh Earnest says, “So, today, they sent their own check for $15,000 to the Clinton-Bush Haiti Fund to support the ongoing relief efforts in that country.”
Also last week Michelle taped a 30-second PSA urging Americans to donate to the Red Cross for relief efforts.
