O Presidency Shark Jumped
Never mind the schlocky Oprah-Obama Christmas special. I’m pretty sure this means the Obama admin … and maybe even the presidency of the United States … has jumped the shark. NYT: Bravo films reality TV wannabes crashing Obama’s state dinner.
In a statement on Thursday, Bravo said Half Yard Productions, the producer for the series, had been under the impression that the Salahis, two polo-playing devotees of Washington’s social swirl and online social networks alike, had been invited to the dinner.
The “Housewives” cast “has not been finalized,” Bravo said. “Michaele Salahi is under consideration as a cast member; as such, Half Yard Productions were filming the Salahis on that day. Half Yard was only aware that per the Salahis they had been invited as guests.”
A White House official, informed of Bravo’s statement, said that was not the case. “We’ve already confirmed that they weren’t invited,” he said.
A publicist for the couple, Mahogany Jones, said they would not comment formally for now, but issued a statement.
Their counsel, Paul W. Gardner, “states emphatically that the Salahis did not ‘crash’ this event,” the statement said. “We look forward to setting the record straight very soon.”
Mr. Gardner, an entertainment lawyer, did not respond to a message left at his Baltimore office.
Brian Williams, the anchor of “NBC Nightly News” and a guest at the dinner, saw the Salahis arrive when he was waiting in a line of cars to enter the East Gate of the White House. In interviews broadcast on NBC on Thursday, Mr. Williams said the couple’s vehicle was turned away, adding, “Actually the first ring of Secret Service security had worked.”
“After their vehicle was turned away, they hopped out,” Mr. Williams said. “What attracted our attention was there was at least one camera trailing them. And a makeup woman got out and fixed the woman’s hair and then started powdering the man’s forehead.”
The Salahis apparently then joined a line of dinner guests at an entrance for pedestrians. What happened at checkpoints at that entrance is the focus of the Secret Service investigation.
…
The White House has said the Salahis were not seated for the dinner. It was not clear Thursday when they left the White House on Tuesday, and under what circumstances.
If the Salahis don’t make the show, we’ll know Bravo isn’t really serious about … producing quality reality television, contributing to American culture, being watched, makin money, all that. Separate matter, but as long as we have to put up with another three years, at least it’s going to be good for a few laughs. But on a more serious note, who rates bigger reality TV points: White House crashers, Balloon Family, or the Obama admin?
Much like the Heenes and the Salahis, the president of the United States had no apparent qualifications for commanding the attention of the entire viewing public of the United States, and yet they all have.
Tough call but I gotta go with O. Doesn’t have the shock value of the crashers or Balloon Dad, Mom & Boy … or their all-or-nothing, go-for-broke spirit … but he takes it on non-stop long-distance endurance capacity to astonish. It’s the audacity, at a level that blows away any one-off 24-hour news channel attention-grabbing, Secret Service stumping stunts.
It’s not that some reality TV-crazed nitwits have made a spectacle of the Obama admin. The O admin has deftly managed that on its own.
That said, I’m afraid the Obama administration is in serious danger of jumping the shark before the first year’s out. Between racking up a historic deficit on pork, dragging out a critical war decision for purposes of minor tinkering, insulting and alarming key allies, playing foot-in-mouth with street cops, watching major agenda items bog down despite one-party rule … how can he hope to top that season without resorting to cheap, obvious gimmicks?
Surber: Real Wife of Alderson federal women’s prison. I dunno, I’d say she deserves nod at the Presidential Reality TV Awards. You know, the Prezzies.
American Power tuts at the Palestinian activism, which someone apparently figured needed scrubbing. (Which is why they invented Google cache.) Well, OK, whatever, as long as the Secret Service isn’t letting Islamic extremists sneak in. Their idea of reality TV goes for the super extravagant double spectacular attention grab.
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Posted by Jules Crittenden at 11:04 pm Comments (6) on Thursday, November 26, 2009
6 Responses to “O Presidency Shark Jumped”
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November 27th, 2009 at 12:05 am
Well, Jules, the fact that Tareq’s a Palestinian nationalist — formally on the board at American Task Force on Palestine — adds to the drama. Since the pres of ATFP blamed the U.S. for 9/11, can’t go down too well with the flyover folks who watch reality shows. But O did bless the Muslims heading to to hajj this Thanksgiving, so he scores some pointw with the ummah… More on this at my place, in any case. Good thing old Tareq wasn’t packing some anthrax. Secret Serve’s already in a heap, you know.
November 27th, 2009 at 7:03 am
You are right, Jules.
Additional evidence is provided by Peggy Noonan, who writes of the disappointment among the establishment media.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703499404574558134111577494.html
November 27th, 2009 at 2:57 pm
The Obama White House has to be sweating about Secret Service security now. Tareq and Michaele might have been harmless publicity-seekers, but one has to wonder if this wasn’t just a dry run.
In any case, I thought the Obama administration jumped the shark months ago. Right now, they’re jumping the whole ocean.
November 27th, 2009 at 3:48 pm
[...] Jules Crittenden: If the Salahis don’t make the show, we’ll know Bravo isn’t really serious about … producing quality reality television, contributing to American culture, being watched, makin money, all that. Separate matter, but as long as we have to put up with another three years, at least it’s going to be good for a few laughs. But on a more serious note, who rates bigger reality TV points: White House crashers, Balloon Family, or the Obama admin? [...]
November 27th, 2009 at 9:00 pm
American Power tracked-back with, ‘Did Hollywood Today Plagiarize American Power on Tareq Salahi’s Palestinian Ties?’.
November 27th, 2009 at 9:24 pm
[...] for Power-Sharing With Hamas!”Jules Crittenden linked to the piece last night at his snarky entry, “O Presidency Shark Jumped.” And Ruby Slippers, also citing my post, emphasizes the potentially catastrophic nature of [...]