White House Social Secretary Desiree Rogers resigned Friday, telling the
New York Times that she did so after talking with herself about the idea. The
NY Times reports Desiree Rogers said "It's a conversation with oneself, is that what I want to do, what is going to make me the happiest?"
But what Desiree Rogers did by leaving the White House she will come to regret by the end of the year. Rogers caved in to the black haters group or "BHG"; a set of African Americans in and around Washingon D.C. who acted as if they were jealous of Rogers' role as the first African American White House Social Secretary.
Rather than give Desiree Rogers behind the scenes advice, these members of what this blogger calls the BHG embarked on a whispered smear campaign that turned into a yell when Rogers bacame the fall person in the White House Partygate Scandal.
The person this blogger places in the BHG is long-time Washington journalist April Ryan of Urban Radio. If you remember,
it was Ryan who appeared at the White House Press Briefing twice and to specifically, loudly, and revealingly complain about Desiree Rogers.
In short, Ryan's questioning came off more as a massive rant, peppered with the necessary cues to let the World know that Ryan was a defiant black woman that should not be messed with. Something this blogger applauds, but
not when it's done in the process of smearing another black woman.
White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs did not handle himself well here, but in fairness, Ryan's behavior would have tested the very best press secretary in history.
Fine. Get upset over health care reform's slow progress or the high unemployment rate, but
The White House Social Secretary? Come on? April Ryan's rants - she appeared twice - were so over the top, CNN's Don Lemon had a graphic that read "
April...Calm down."
Ryan's behavior was so terrible that the question "Is April Ryan out to get Desiree Rogers" was on the minds of many observers, like Joni Reynolds of
The Daily Voice. This blogger wondered if Ryan was really upset for not, herself, being invited to the State Dinner.
My suspicion was confirmed when
April Ryan was interviewed by Lemon on CNN:
RYAN: And, typically, I've been at the White House for 13 years in January. Thirteen years. And during that time, I have been able to cover many events and, also, I have been an invited guest by two presidents to two State Dinners, myself, and other events at the White House I've been invited to by presidents. So I know how a lot of it happens at the gate.
Now this is where CNN's Don Lemon really buried the lead. Ryan all but admitted to Lemon that she was upset for not getting an invitation to the Obama's version of The State Dinner. After, all, Ryan was the guest of "two presidents to two State Dinners" so it's a safe bet she expected an invite to the State Dinner of America's first black President. Ryan did't get one, and it set her off big time.
Gina over at Michelle Obama Watch also points to not just Ryan's behavior but that of
Washington Post Staff Writer and Fashion Editor Robin Givhan, who is seen as another member of the BHG (who, like April Ryan is African American, though not every member of the BHG is black) and spends much of her column essentially trashing Rogers for being confident, extroverted, and attractive.
Uh, did Robin Givhan miss out on the State Dinner, too? While Givhan's too clever to admit what Ryan did to Lemon, it's a fair bet she wasn't there either.
Witness:
But Rogers has never been an introvert. The New Orleans native has waved to the crowds from a perch atop a Mardi Gras float. In Chicago, she was known for her eclectic mix of guests at her dazzling parties. She has stood up to dance by herself in cocktail bars, as friends sat by and watched in amusement. She is a coquettish life-of-the-party.
Note that Robin Givhan doesn't accuse Rogers of such behavior while Rogers was in The White House, making Givhan's piece nothing more than character assassination.
Indeed, attacking Rogers has been a sports or sorts, sloppily done. Even
The Huffington Post got into the act, reporting that Rogers attended New York's Fashion Week, but failing to explain that she did so in 2009, not in 2010.
But the biggest, most powerful member of the BHG is Desiree Rogers herself, and with respect to her decision to listen to that crowd. By doing so, Rogers robs herself of the chance to grow in the position and fails to leave a positive legacy of work as White House Social Secretary. Every time Rogers name comes up, and her accomplishments are discussed, the conversation will always be followed by "yeah, but" and that's too bad.
Meanwhile, the next White House Social Secretary is reportedly a white woman, thus calming the fears of the BHG, who can't stand to see someone black, female, confident, and extroverted in a role they think should be filled by a white female who remembered to invite them to the next State Dinner.
