pollywood | social secretaries
Honoring the Code A special sisterhood of White House social secretaries can be counted upon to support the job’s current occupant
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ast year’s scandal involving state dinner crashers and Obama appointee Desirée Rogers put the job of White House social secretary in the spotlight, a place where no one in that position should ever be. Letitia Baldrige, social secretary during the Kennedy administration, used to say, “If you stay out of the papers, it’s a sign of your success.” So, does that make Rogers a failure? It turns out that she got bad press for the same things that other social secretaries also did at one time or another. Wearing designer gowns is nothing new. Neither is sitting down at table during a state dinner. But, while the crashers probably weren’t the first to breach the gates and posed
BY DONNA EVERS
no real threat to national security, they seemed hell-bent on risking everything, including other peoples’ reputations and safety, for their own proverbial 15 minutes of fame. In the ensuing firestorm of publicity, accusations and even a congressional hearing, Rogers resigned. Remarkably, none of the other social secretaries had much to say, except to defend her reputation. There is an unwritten code among these talented, hard-working women that involves keeping their privileged access to insider information to themselves. Keeping the faith is not just limited to the Marine Corps. These women watch out for each other as well as those whom they serve. Every time a new secretary gets appointed, her outgoing predecessor hosts a luncheon honoring the newcomer to which all of the former social secretaries are invited. The purpose of this tradition is to share helpful tips and funny stories about their days – and nights – in the White House. Bess Abell, who worked for Lady Bird Johnson, tells a classic tale about a couple who begged to be invited to a state dinner because it was the wife’s “dying wish.” There must have been a miracle cure, Abell recalls, because she saw them both three decades later and the wife looked terrific. During the Reagan days Muffie Brandon Cabot had to stuff the cleaning crew into a broom closet minutes before Prince Left: Desirée Rogers at the White House state dinner for the president of India in 2009. Above: Letitia Baldrige on the job in the Kennedy White House, circa 1962.
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Charles made an unexpected grand entrance down the corridor they were cleaning. Baldrige is fond of telling how the visit of Prince Ranier and Princess Grace of Monaco got downgraded from a dinner to a luncheon because everyone was well aware that President Kennedy had once dated Grace Kelly. But Jackie and Grace got along just fine after that, she notes, probably because they spent most of their time on two different continents. During her tenure, a White House social secretary may oversee as many as 2,000 events attended by half a million guests. Their duties include categorizing them as “political” or “non-political,” i.e., whether taxpayers foot the bill or not, and never losing sight of the fact that none can ever interfere with the daily business taking place in the Executive Mansion. Proximity to power can create a volatile atmosphere, so there has to be discipline and loyalty to ensure the delicate balance holding this most important household together is never disturbed by a breach of conduct or protocol. Baldrige, a noted etiquette expert, points out that what we call “diplomacy” is basically a combination of good manners and discretion. The gate crashing scandal filled the news for weeks, but the absence of comment from Roger’s predecessors (who would know the most about the situation) spoke volumes. Whether Democrat or Republican and regardless of when or for whom they served, these women realized the importance of their honor code. In a city where gossip is part of the air we breathe, silence is a genuine virtue. Semper fi, ladies.
W AS H I N G TO N LI F E
| h o l i d ay
2010
| washingtonlife.com