Soundbite: “Careers Will Be Ruined” By Salahis’ White House Breach

by Robert Quigley | 2:09 pm, November 28th, 2009

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“This is no smile-and-say-cheese matter. Two rank amateurs breached what is supposed to be unbreachable security. Let there be no doubt about the consequences for the romp: Careers will be ruined. That’s reality.”

–The San Francisco Chronicle editorial board on the Salahi gate-crashing incident

The media has yet to come to a consensus over the meaning of “Crashgate.” Some outlets see the news that socialites Michaele and Tareq Salahi were able to get past state dinner security and even snap photos with President Obama as an alarming sign of poor security, some find fault with the Obama administration itself, and some think that the whole affair is funny. Not to be overlooked: it is possible that the Salahis had help from the inside.

The members of the San Francisco Chronicle’s editorial board, for their part, does not think that the incident is a laughing matter. If they’re not explicitly calling for the heads of Secret Service or White House staff, they at least see their firings as inevitable.

But is that fair? A poll: do you think anyone should be fired over the incident? Who, if anyone, do you think is at fault?

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4 comments

shootfromthehip says:

November 28, 2009 at 8:59 pm

I think the media should be fired for making this story into something bigger than it really is.

TfT says:

November 29, 2009 at 8:28 am

I think this is a pretty big story (not as big as climategate, but silence of the media is the game plan on that story). I think the White House Social secretary has a lot to answer for on this. The SS has stepped up to the plate and taken responsibility, not so for the Social secretary, at least from what I have read, her name seems to be absent from most articles. Time will tell, but heads will roll.

cendana287 says:

November 29, 2009 at 4:09 pm

@shootfromthehip has a point here. I wonder whether if it’s really the first time anyone has done that and were discovered. The matter probably was dealt with silently.

On the other hand, in this case, one can see from SFGate’s point of view too. What’s the purpose of having something called “Security”, with all those man-hours spent in training to spot such things, only to see it all come to zero? Just imagine it – terrorists had planned it where they come up and blow themselves up near Obama. Or, if the security works, they’ll be forced to detonate far away while being searched. With this particular dinner, Obama and those within 20 feet would have been goners.

Sunnyr says:

November 30, 2009 at 3:06 pm

Someone’s head should roll on this one and the problems most likely reside in Obama’s SOCIAL OFFICE. However this Amateur Hour Oracle will probably try to divert the blame to the CIA, Secret Service, George Bush or Sarah Palin. Jive Punk Moron!

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