By: Amanda Anderson
Although the administration’s focus may be on health care and a horrendous economy, there are some other issues that have been brewing in Washington D.C. regarding former social secretary Desiree Rogers and a nasty smoking habit the President can’t seem to shake.
After the whole fiasco involving the “White House Crashers,” whispers in the nation’s capital have been speculating that there was a rift between the Obamas and close friend (former social secretary) Desiree Rogers. Although this is merely speculation, Rogers withdrew from her position as Social Secretary last week.
And although the last two weeks have been big for President Obama with the Health Care Reform Summit and the battle of the health care bill, he made time for an annual doctor’s visit.
The results of the test only created more controversy as it was discovered that Obama has high cholesterol-this is a clear indication that President Obama has not managed to kick his smoking habit.
In a recent interview with Politico’s Nia-Malika Henderson, she spoke on both subjects.
On Desiree Rogers:
“If you look at this year, this has been a phenomenal year, starting a year in a White House where nobody even knows where the bathrooms are, and then right away you have to start delivering great events, and every single event we have had at the White House has been stellar, and it’s been because of the teamwork that has included Desiree. You can’t look back on this year and be disappointed. She’s done a great job. She came into this with a shorter-term perspective. Leaving the corporate world, she was always sort of ambivalent.
She is leaving us with a solid foundation. … That’s a decision that she had to make; … she’s been a terrific resource.”
On President Obama’s failure to quit smoking:
“What the president struggles with is what every smoker struggles with, it’s a difficult habit to break. It’s understandable that he struggles with it. Do I want him to stop completely? Absolutely. And I will push him to do so, but it’s a process.
I’ve never been a smoker so I can’t relate, but people who’ve smoked say like anything, you have dips and valleys, and to try to quit smoking in one of the most stressful times of the nation’s history is sort of like, you know, OK, he’s going to struggle a little bit. This may be the year he’ll struggle.”
I honestly hope the President can quit smoking completely, but I know it has to be hard to do at a time when he has to be stressed out. Hopefully, he will be able to release a little stress after he passes the health care bill in a few weeks.
She's such a class act!