Party's About to Start for Obamas' Social Secretary

Desirée Rogers brings tradition and inclusiveness to the party
By Victoria Floethe,  Newser Staff
Posted Jan 19, 2009 5:18 PM CST
Party's About to Start for Obamas' Social Secretary
"We would be remiss not to study those years carefully," Rogers says of the Kennedy White House, "not in order to duplicate them but to be inspired by them."   (Getty Images)

As White House social secretary, Desirée Rogers will not only organize all social events and ceremonies, she'll help people imagine what Barack Obama’s presidency represents. Catching up with the “the most eligible woman in Washington" for Vogue, William Norwich finds the former Chicago businesswoman and Obama family friend deserving of such recent, rave reviews as “life of the party.”

“Desirée is so poised and so charming, so substantial and capable,” said Letitia Baldrige, JFK’s social secretary, who advised Rogers to avoid putting too many politicians on dinner lists. Rogers says she and Michelle Obama are studying Jacqueline Kennedy’s White House for inspiration, but plan to keep it fresh and inclusive. One possiblity: an Internet lottery to welcome a guest to a Pennsylvania Avenue soirée. (More Desiree Rogers stories.)

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