Obama's First State Dinner Proves Easy Access

Earlier this week, President Obama hosted his first state dinner at the White House, in honour of Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.  The prestigious event that honed heavy security drew a large crowd of over 300 prominent guests.  Michaele and Tareq Salahi, a Virginian couple were not on the guest list, but managed to slip through the tight security.  Although harmless guests, this breech of security measure has caused quite a stir.  How did they manage to fool the so called security team on duty that night?

It seems, the couple waltzed into the event exuding confidence, fratenizing, and taking advantage of photo ops with the likes of Vice President Joe Biden (featured in the picture with the Salahi's), White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel, Washington Mayor Adrian Fenty, and CBS News anchor Katie Couric.  The funny part is that the Secret Service learned about this the next day after being alerted that the couple had posted pictures and boasts of attending the state dinner on Facebook.  The rumour is that the couple is set to have roles in an upcoming reality television show called "The Real House Wives of Washington".

I suspect someone's job will be on the chopping block over this one.  This definitely puts egg on the face of the White House security team.  As for the couple, they got their fifteen minutes of fame, but may possibly face some kind of legal repercussions.

Obama World Peace Prize?

Barack Obama wins a Nobel Peace Prize. There seemed to be much question from the media and public to this prestigious award going to Barack Obama. I have to admit that when I first heard this announcement, I too questioned the decision. My first instinct was that maybe this was just a little bit of grandstanding on the political front. Actually, there was a lot of people around me that said they were wondering what constituted Obama to be this year's winner.

My understanding of the Nobel Peace Prize is that the criteria baseline is grounded in peace attribution. It seems to me that the United States is involved in two wars going on in the middle east. Mr. Obama is actually Chief and Commander of two major wars. What an oxymoron to claims of world peace efforts. Perhaps it will take a little time to end these wars, and the President appears to have strong beliefs in ending war and creating solidified altruistic relationships between the US and the rest of the world.

I think it's great that Obama is using diplomacy as a strategy to achieve strong relationships and understanding within the nations. In reality, we should be living in peace, adapting to the natural order of ebb and flow of life.

Whether or not Obama winning a Nobel Peace Prize was premature, will obviously remain an issue of debate. All we can hope for is that the world does achieve the prize's ultimate goal of obtaining world peace.