Two weeks before the Salahis, there were the Dardens, a tourist couple from Georgia who unexpectedly gained access to an East Room breakfast with President Obama and a group of veterans last month. Of course, the Dardens were not the Salahis in some major ways they had accidentally shown up a day early for a tour of the White House with their congressman, and, after being vetted by the Secret Service, were allowed into the breakfast as “a nice gesture,” according to a White House spokesman. The Dardens were uneasy, and, kind of adorably, kept asking White House staff if they really belonged there. But they were told to “go with the flow” and were soon schmoozing with the Obamas and Bidens. So the Darden story involves neither publicity-hungry socialites nor a galling security breach. It’s really more about the revelation that you can just pop in unannounced at the White House and be treated to breakfast, kind of like at an IHOP.
Couple ‘crash’ official White House breakfast with Obama, even though they didn’t mean to! [NYDN]
