An American Lion

One of these people wasn’t invited to the Ball, and no, I’m not talking about Joe Biden

Really, what’s going on in Washington D.C. these days? I refuse to go there. It’s just not my thing anymore.

Attention whores always annoy me (the blonde, not Joe Biden, by the way).

A couple in the running for a spot on the reality television show “Housewives of Washington” may have crashed the state dinner last night at the White House, the Washington Post reports.

Tareq and Michaele Salehi were not on the invite list, according to a White House official, but posted pictures of themselves at last night’s event to their shared Facebook page.

One of the pictures shows them with White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel, described as “Ron Emanuel” in the caption.

I have the photo—why doesn’t CBS News? Are they that lazy?

U.S. Secret Service spokesman Ed Donovan told CBS News that initial findings suggest a Secret Service checkpoint at the party “did not follow proper procedures” and may have permitted them admission to the dinner.

The spokesman says the Secret Service Office of Professional Responsibility has been directed to conduct “a comprehensive review” of the incident.

But Donovan is emphatic in stating that the Salahis, “went through magnetometers and other levels of security, as did all guests attending the dinner.”

Wow. And there’s a pretty good chance they weren’t the only ones. But, to be fair, the Salahis have been photographed with President Clinton, Prince Charles, and a host of other Washington D.C. luminaries—even John McCain, if you can believe it. They’re not exactly nobodies and they’re not exactly “reality show” fodder. They’re more like B-list or C-list Washington D.C. flunkies. They’re not Omarosa, in other words, begging for clothes and hustling for attention. Interestingly, Salahi is a former Washington Redskins cheerleader. Does that matter? I don’t know.

Do we even have a Secret Service anymore? Is the President being guarded by a bunch of thick-necked Pinkertons?

Oh, and yes. Yes, they are a bit unsavory:

Even before their brush with reality TV fame, the couple had gained some notoriety for a long-running feud with Tareq’s parents, Dirgham and Corinne Salahi, over control of the family’s Oasis Winery in Hume, Va. Last year, Tareq accused his mother’s attorney of punching him; the lawyer was found not guilty. Court records show that Oasis filed for bankruptcy in February, with Tareq listed as “debtor designee.” A note on the winery’s Web site Wednesday promised a reopening for business in 2010.

The America’s Polo Cup has also endured controversy, last year drawing a lawsuit from a Middleburg caterer over alleged non-payment. That suit remains unresolved.

Definitely NOT A-list material.