In the clip above, Tareq Salahi tells Matt Lauer that he and his wife were not crashers, and that they've "been misrepresented by the media and other paparazzi forums." (Paparazzi forums?) The curiously blank-faced Michaele Salahi claims that their lives have been destroyed by the experience — she says, "everything we worked for, Matt. For me, 44 years, just destroyed." It's an interesting statement, given that the Salahis' stunt has actually given them the national fame they apparently craved — but of course, they swear it wasn't a stunt at all. The pair say they're not at liberty to discuss how they were actually invited to the state dinner, so their current evidence for their innocence is the lame assertion that "no one" would try to crash a party at the White House. Michaele confusingly explains, "the White House, it is the house, and no one would do that." (Irony alert: Tareq also claims, "Our homes have been invaded.") Then they say some vague shit about how they're "working with the Secret Service" and finish up with the claim that they'll soon be "completely exonerated."

Of course, pretty much everyone else involved is sticking to the story that the Salahis are complete charlatans. They mention emails that will exonerate them — their correspondent in these emails may be Michele Jones, special assistant to the secretary of defense, who says she actually told them they weren't invited. Jones elaborates,

I did not state at any time, or imply that I had tickets for ANY portion of the evening's events. I specifically stated that they did not have tickets and in fact that I did not have the authority to authorize attendance, admittance or access to any part of the evening's activities. Even though I informed them of this, they still decided to come.

White House spokesman Robert Gibbs also disputes the Salahis' version of events, telling Meredith Vieira that "this wasn't a misunderstanding," Gibbs said. "You don't show up at the White House as a misunderstanding." Furthermore, Gibbs says both Barack and Michelle Obama are angry about the Salahis' unauthorized attendance. Though some blame social secretary Desiree Rogers for not posting a representative from her office at the White House East Gate, Gibbs points out that the Secret Service could easily have checked with the social office about guests, and did not do so. He says,

I appreciate the observation that somebody could or could not have been at a certain gate. But again, you could pick up the phone…You don't have to be standing in my office for me to convey information to you.

In a teaser for the Today appearance, Tareq Salahi says "the truth will soon come out." But at least for now, the truth appears to be that White House security procedures were lax enough to allow a couple who had been specifically told they weren't invited to attend a state dinner and shake hands with the President. It's worth asking whether Michele Jones knew about the Salahis' history — they reportedly previously crashed the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation Dinner, though of course they claim they were also invited to that — and whether she ought to have informed the Secret Service that they were trying to finagle their way in. But whatever Jones's involvement, the fact remains that everyone in America is lucky that the Salahis were simply fame-whores with no more serious plans than getting on a reality show. While their inarticulate performance on Today and their ludicrous past — maybe we should all check out family albums to make sure they didn't crash our parties — are amusing, the fact remains that they committed a very serious security breach. It's no wonder the Adminstration is angry.

Salahis: "We Were Invited, Not Crashers" [MSNBC]
Salahis Sought Gala Access Through A Pentagon Door [Washington Post]
Breach Ups Scrutiny On Social Office [Politico]
Have Salahis Done This Before? [Politico]
On NBC, Virginia Couple Denies Crashing State Dinner [USA Today]

In early October, the Wall Street Journal published the list of 45 artworks destined for 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. It included several bronze sculptures by Edgar Degas, eleven paints by American painter George Catlin, a piece by Louise Nevelson, a Rothko, and for the East Wing, Watusi (Hard Edge).

Naturally, political and art bloggers examined the entire list, searching for cues about the Obama's personal taste. Art News reports that there was a conscious effort to assemble a collection with "wall power" - art that packs a punch. As Robin Cembalest reports, there was also an emphasis on showing the best of American art:

"The overarching theme was trying to offer the president and Mrs. Obama the best of America," Smith told me in a telephone interview, describing the First Couple as "unbelievably curious and interested in a lot of types of art." It was a lengthy back and forth. Works by well-known artists on some early wish lists, including Edward Hopper, Charles Burchfield, Jackson Pollock, Franz Kline, Romare Bearden, Brice Marden, and Agnes Martin, fell by the wayside, either for conservation reasons, or because they were currently on view or promised for loan in the next four years. So did works on paper, photography, and video art.

The New Yorker deemed the entire collection "upper-middlebrow in an O.K. way." Obviously, Michelle Malkin had some much harsher words. She, along with several other bloggers, felt that the inclusion of Watusi was a telling example of Obama's general cluelessness. In a way, Alma Thomas, who spent most of her life teaching children and later became the first black artist to show at the Whitney Museum, seems a perfect artist for the First Family to support. However, the composition of Watusi is very, very similar to that of a late Matisse, which Thomas openly admits was the inspiration for her painting. Despite the fact that Thomas has clearly reworked and remade L'escargot in such a way that while it may resemble the original, it is a lot more than a mere copy, some still view Thomas as a thief and a fraud. Malkin ended her blog post on the whole matter with this charming comment: "I know, I know. Cries of "RAAAAACIST" in 3, 2, 1…" Others accused the Obamas of being too clueless to notice the influence, or "turning a blind eye because the artist was black."

Originally Watusi was supposedly going to hang in Michelle Obama's office, but sometime in late October, it was removed from the list. It's been confirmed that the painting was sent back, but Art News was unable to find out why. However, Cembalist does conclude that "the story behind this painting may also presage the cultural politics of the Obama administration." Considering the comments on Politco's post - which range from "Leave the painting - its emblematic of this phony, deceitful administration" to "The right wing hates this president so much they criticize some paintings? Really?" - this seems rather likely.

Critics Nix Obamas' Pix Mix [Art News]
White House Ditches Painting [Politico]

[Rome, July 9. Image via Getty]

People near the Pantheon look at the square where US First Lady Michelle Obama and her daughters Sasha and Malia will arrive to visit the oldest large-scale dome of Rome on July 9, 2009. Michelle Obama and her daughters visited the day before the Roman Colosseum while US President Barack Obama is attending a G8 summit in L�Aquila. AFP PHOTO / CHRISTOPHE SIMON (Photo credit should read CHRISTOPHE SIMON/AFP/Getty Images)

According to Dowd, Barack employs a trainer, preached the importance of breakfast to the black community, and once, at a fancy restaurant, ate just one french fry. Michelle, meanwhile, invited kids yesterday to the White House vegetable garden, and helped them prepare their own baked (not fried) chicken. Yet both Obamas have been spotted at burger joint Five Guys, where evil grease soaks through the bag and into the arteries. What gives?

To her credit, Dowd recognizes that Obama may be "treat[ing] himself to fries and burgers to beef up his average-Joe image." And nutrition professor Parke Wilde tells Politico's Erika Lovely, "The pressure for politicians to eat like the common guy is part of the human condition. Eating with someone means connecting by sharing their kind of food. You can't refuse to participate in the way most people eat." Clearly, as with Michelle's cooking efforts (or non-efforts), the challenge is to set an example for Americans without alienating them.

But is this really so hard? White House chef Sam Kass says, "We try not to do diets, as opposed to just change our lifestyle. A diet means you're inherently going to fall off of it." And Lovely writes,

If the Obamas have a diet secret, it is that they've achieved the elusive "balanced" lifestyle - a concept that has been preached for years by health secretaries, doctors and even the fast-food, candy and beverage industries.

A balanced lifestyle — which, for the Obamas includes exercise, vegetables, and the occasional burger or cheese platter — doesn't have to be elusive. The reason it seems so may have to do with the false dichotomy people tend to set up between healthy and unhealthy behavior. Lovely quotes one culprit, anti-obesity activist MeMe Roth, who views sundae toppings the way most moms the crystal meth (while she's on good behavior here, saying merely that Obama "has to come across as health conscious, not a foodie," she once compared eating junk food to rape). Maureen Dowd comes off as an absolutist too, writing, "the president should forgo the photo-op of the grease-stained bovine bag and take the TV stars out for what he really wants and America really needs: some steamed fish with a side of snap peas." And on the other side, we have people like Jeffrey Stier of the American Council on Science and Health, who says that if the government keep promoting organic, local food with their vegetable garden,

People are going to eat fewer fruits and vegetables. Cancer rates will go up. Obesity rates will go up. I think if we decide to eat only locally grown food, we're going to have a lot of starvation.

As people and as a nation, we're caught between those who say that any deviation from steamed fish is going to give us a heart attack, and opponents who argue that healthy food is elitist and we'd better stick with a steady diet of donuts and pesticides unless we want to die of starvobesity. But what the Obamas demonstrate is that it really isn't a contradiction to eat baked chicken and cheeseburgers, and that occasional grease can be part of a healthy diet. It's smart that the Obamas don't make burgers into Roth-style forbidden foods — this demonizing attitude might just make Sasha and Malia crave them more. And while the Obamas can afford whatever organic food they want, and a trainer to keep them fit, it's also true that a vegetable garden like Michelle's could be a money saver for people with the space and time to grow one. The recession, says Gardener's Supply Co., has caused a spike in interest in home gardening. Obviously not everyone can plant a garden, and not everyone can eat like the Obamas. But their "balanced lifestyle" is a lot more attainable than people like Stier would have us believe — and a lot healthier than Dowd implies.

Hold the Fries [New York Times]
President Obama's Diet: Fitness And French Fries [Politico]
Industry Is Critical Of Michelle Obama's Organic Garden [Politico]

Earlier: Should Michelle Obama Get Back In The Kitchen?
Michelle Obama's Garden Continues To Sprout Criticism

[Washington, D.C. April 14. Image via Getty]

• FBI agents and local police force have rescued nearly 50 child prostitutes (aged 13-17) from a nationwide sex trafficking operation. Special Agent Melissa Morrow says that adult prostitutes tipped them off about a sixteen-year-old girl who had been recruiting children into sex work. • A website that sells human hair says they have seen a huge increase in women seeking to profit off their strands as the economy tanks. • A British couple have been rescued after spending 40 days stranded at sea. • Tragic news: three Chinese mothers have lost their children and their savings because of one reckless driver in Ohio. • On Husband's Day, Icelandic woman serve their men traditional delicacies, including ram's testicles. Tasty! • Despite receiving death threats, Hubsi Kramar, the star and director of Josef Fritzl-inspired play Pension F, will not cancel or delay the opening. The (tasteless) show must go on! • Scientists have found a medical reason for bad hair days, and it's not particularly surprising (hint: it has to do with oil and hormones). • Time interviews Barbara Davilman and Liz Dubelman, authors of What Was I Thinking: 58 Bad Boyfriend Stories about bad breakups and first impressions. • Sociological Images has an interesting post about suggestive names of juniors brands, including Tyte, Sugar Tart, and Hooked Up. • Duffy stars in a new campaign for Coca-Cola with the tag line: "I'm no superwoman." The F Word breaks down why this is a problem. • New research shows that gray hair is caused by buildup of hydrogen peroxide, even among those who aren't bottle blonde. • Need a classy way to show off your love for painkillers? Make some Vicodin earrings! • In this sad article, a self-described former street kids claims that "Slumdog Millionaire" does not provide give a "realistic" depiction of life in the slums: "It's no such thing. Slum life is a cage." • New York Times writer tackles the film from a slightly different angle, arguing that the word "slum" does not do justice to the reality of Dharavi. • 

• Despite mourning her family tragedy, Jennifer Hudson is in the Gap's holiday ad campaign, wearing a bright red sweater and smiling. Gap gave J.Hud the option to back out, but she wanted to go ahead and have the ads run. [Yahoo News via E!]
• Jennifer Hudson writes on her MySpace blog: "I want to thank each and every one of you for your thoughts and prayers during this difficult time. Thank You All." [People]
• Beyoncé is on the cover of Seventeen and she certainly appears to have her wits about her. She says she would never get married before the age of 25. "I feel like you have to get to know yourself, know what you want, spend some time by yourself, and be proud of who you are before you can share that with someone else." Plus! She's super critical of herself: "I have my YouTube days, when I watch every performance," she says. "I listen to my music, and I watch my videos to figure out what I need to do, what I need to fix, and how to become a better singer." [People]
• Kate Winslet on her Vanity Fair pix: "The whole shoot was about doing the character. I feel like I was playing the part and not me — it doesn't feel like me. It took six hours to set up the lighting and the hair and make-up, because I obviously don't look like that all the time." [Daily Mail]
• The brother of the American Idol reject who killed herself outside the star's L.A. home is blaming Abdul for crushing his sister's dreams. "[Abdul] didn't speak up for her. She let everyone take her down," Charles McIntyre says. [NY Post]

• Madonna to Gwyneth Paltrow: Shut up! Her Magdesty is sick of Gwynnie saying she's "helping Madonna through her divorce." Madge allegedly told G: "If you want to help me and be supportive of me, then keep your mouth SHUT! Say nothing about me or my divorce." [National Enquirer]
• Madonna needs your help: She's building a school for girls in Malawi. [ET]
• It's official: The Obamas are the new Brangelina. [Politico]
• Barbara Walters did something right in letting Whoopi, Joy, Sherri and Elisabeth quarrel: The View is now the most watched show in daytime, after 12 years on the air. [Variety]
• The "report" about Lindsay Lohan and Sam Ronson getting married is "not true," according to LL's rep. [MSNBC]
• And here's a story about Sam getting pissed at Lindsay for flirting with some guy in Vegas. "Lindsay says she loves Sam more than anything but she just can't help that she is attracted to the opposite sex," says a spy. [The Sun]
• Oh, and Lindsay and Sam have a bulldog named Cadillac, who is "like their child." [Daily Express]
• Hmm, who's on the list of "Hollywood's Most Overexposed Celebrities"? Britney Spears, Paris Hilton, Lindsay Lohan and Pamela Anderson, for starters. [Forbes]
• Daniel Craig made a flick called Flashbacks of a Fool which opened October 17, played in two theaters and is already on DVD. It made barely any money, but he's NAKED in it, hello. But Bond's getting all the attention. PS: Bond opens today! [Fox 411]
• Amy Winehouse spotted "on a rampage" and holding a bottle of vodka. Business as usual. [Daily Mail]
• Yikes! Naomi Campbell, Mariah Carey and Nick Cannon were on the same British Airways flight. Are there planes big enough for all that ego? [Page Six]
• There was a rumor that Blake Lively would be on the cover of Vogue, but it turned out she was on the cover of W instead; now comes word that she will indeed land the cover of the February issue of Vogue. Plus! Michelle Obama for the March issue?? [Fashionista]
• Beyoncé denies that she's the one who leaked a new track written for her by Justin Timberlake. There's audio of JT performing the song online. [Mirror]
• Elton John on Prop 8: "What is wrong with Proposition 8 is that they went for marriage. Marriage is going to put a lot of people off, the word marriage. I don't want to be married. I'm very happy with a civil partnership. If gay people want to get married, or get together, they should have a civil partnership. The word 'marriage,' I think, puts a lot of people off. You get the same equal rights that we do when we have a civil partnership. Heterosexual people get married. We can have civil partnerships."
  [USA Today]
• Rachel Zoe and Nicole Richie: Totally seen talking! Do they no longer hate each other? [Page Six, Perez Hilton]
• Critics aren't sure if Britney Spears will actually be able to make a comeback. One music editor says: "Are they coming to see you because they think a train wreck is about to happen, or because they really like your music?" [Reuters]
• Hilary Duff is coming to NBC in a new, as yet to be determined show. Anyone ever see Material Girls? [Variety]
• Ed Norton plays twins in a comedic thriller; check out this picture of him talking to himself. [EW]
• 90210 spoiler alert: Highlight the hidden text if you want to know: Brenda's gonna die. [Perez Hilton]
• You guys: Russell Brand's flying his girlfriend to New York, because he misses her. Sigh. [The Sun]
• Real Housewives Of Atlanta: Off-camera catfights! Threatening voicemails! Drama! [TMZ]
• Hugh Jackman is a wounded soul, you guys. His mother deserted him and his four older siblings when he was a kid. "I do remember having terrible feelings, mainly of feeling really abnormal," he says. "Divorce wasn't common then and it was uncommon for the mother to leave, and I had a real feeling of embarrassment." [Sydney Morning Herald]
• Australia had better be a blockbuster: Hugh Jackman just bought a £14.2 million New York apartment. [Daily Express]
• That commercial Catherine Zeta-Jones was filming in Prague? It's for shampoo. [The Sun]
• Meryl Streep: Starring in LibertyLibrary Cat, a movie about a stray kitty's impact on a town in Iowa. Yeah, a cat. Destined to be awesome? Or awesomely bad? [EW]
• This is an article in praise of Julianne Moore: "Where would we be without her?" [Guardian]
• Eminem's album is being delayed because he's being "obsessive." [The Sun]
• Taylor Swift says she knew about Joe Jonas dating Camilla Belle: "They've been together since we broke up. That's why we broke up — because he met her." Ouch. [Perez Hilton]
• Joe Jonas says: "I never cheated on a girlfriend. Maybe there were reasons for a breakup. Maybe the heart moved on." Teen angst! [Yahoo News, People]
• Watch this: Yunjin Kim and Daniel Dae Kim on a beachy set, discussing their characters on Lost! [EW]
• Whoopi Goldberg will produce — but not star — in a London stage version of Sister Act. It's sort of a remake, with changes to update the story. [Yahoo News]
• Miley Cyrus's boyfriend still claims to be "just a family friend." Sure, sure. [Perez Hilton]
• Ben Stiller's daughter Ella has playdates with Suri Cruise. Ben's wife, Christine Taylor says: "It's like any other play date. I mean [Suri's] amazing and [Tom and Katie] are terrific. And when little kids get together you just let them do their thing, there's no outside elements. Ella likes being the older sister—and we haven't had many [play-dates] but whoever's children that they're playing with, it's always a great thing to see your kids connecting." [NY Observer]
• The CIA gives "advice" to many Hollywood films, and this story claims "no one is truly sure about the extent of its shadowy involvement." Dun dun dun! [Guardian]
• CSI fans are not happy about William Peterson leaving the show. 37% said they would not watch once Petersen, who plays night shift supervisor Gil Grissom, leaves midway through the season. He's being replaced by Laurence Fishburne. [Reuters]
• Linda Hogan says Hulk Hogan purposely handed over the rights to his Hulk Hogan brands to his best friend Eric Bischoff so she can't get any cash from the profits. Messy stuff. [TMZ]
• Sad face: Benicio del Toro's dad is super sick. BDT flew to Puerto Rico to be with him. [Rush & Molloy]
• A woman who claims Shaquille O'Neal stalked and threatened her has withdrawn her request for a restraining order. Change of heart? Secret settlement? [TMZ]
• Jodi Sweetin, aka Stephanie from Full House, just signed a six-figure deal to publish her addiction memoir. Did playing second banana to the Olsen twins drive her to drugs? [NY Observer]
• Speaking of book deals, Sarah Silverman is writing something and there's a bidding war going on. [Observer]
• Last season it was a tornado; the year before it was a "supermarket standoff" — this year, the Desperate Housewives stunt is a ravaging fire. [Yahoo News]
• Ryan O'Neal and his son have delayed entering pleas in their felony drug cases until after the new year. Attorneys asked the judge for more time to review evidence. [Yahoo News]
• Terrence Howard's mom died in September and he's trying to get back on track.
  "I know that I have been quiet but I had a lot going on," he wrote on his MySpace blog. "But I am slowly pulling it together." [People]
• Whoa: Annie Lennox has two teenage daughters? They went to the preview of the Comme Des Garcons collection for H&M. They's so pretty! [Daily Express]
• Porn legend Heather Hunter convinced a judge to toss out a plagiarism suit; another writer claimed Hunter's novel is a ripoff. The girl's-quest-for-stardom-leads-her-to-porn plot is maybe not that unusual. [NY Daily News]
• Why are people tracking down Elvis's 71-year-old ex-girlfriend? [Guardian]
• The Beatles' former road manager, Tony Bramwell, says: "I have no axe to grind against Yoko. I wanted to let Beatles fans know the real stories about what it was like when Yoko came into John’s life and the problems she caused for the Beatles, their fans, and the staff at Apple." [Daily Express]
• What recession? Lars Ulrich paid $14 million for sold a Jean Michel Basquiat painting yesterday. [Yahoo News]
• Got a tens of thousands of dollars to spend? Photographs of Angelina Jolie, Kate Moss and Britney Spears are up for auction at Christie's. [Telegraph]
• "Money is certainly going to dry up for a lot of people on a lot of fronts, especially in the giving area. But I believe art can survive, it's like grass growing through a crack in the sidewalk. No matter what the economic conditions, art will always survive. I'm hopeful that the more art gets realized as an important factor in the world we live in, more and more people will donate some money and maybe, more importantly, time to the quest." — Robert Redford. [Reuters]
• "I realize that my place and position in history is that I will go down as the voice of this generation, of this decade, I will be the loudest voice. It's me settling into that position of just really accepting that it's one thing to say you want to do it and it's another thing to really end up being like Michael Jordan." — ever-humble Kanye West. [USA Today]
• "I'll watch anything with Helen Mirren in it. Especially when she was young. I mean, come on! I love Helen. I watch The Cook, The Thief, His Wife & Her Lover at least four times a year." - -Samuel L. Jackson. [Daily Express]
• "You could say that being yelled at by Janis Joplin was one of the great honors of my life. […] Janis didn't dress like anyone else, and she definitely didn't sing like anyone else. Janis put herself out there completely, and her voice was not only strong and soulful, it was painfully and beautifully real." — Stevie Nicks. [Rolling Stone]
• "The baby comes wherever I go, and I just like looking at her, watching her breathe. I stand over her crib and watch her breathe. It's pathetic. My mum says I'm over-bonded. I don't care. I'm just very bonded right now." — Nicole Kidman. [USA Today]
• "All of the critics who gave me one star less than full marks should eat shit and die. It’s like your mother knitting you a sweater and you telling her it was only worth seven out of ten. Music is a gift — it shouldn’t get a rating." — Kanye West. [The Sun]
• "I guess I’m lucky. Genetically, I’m like my mum and she looked great right up until her death in 1989. But I think the real secret is that I am very, very happy. I have a wonderful new husband and we’re very compatible. I’m having the best time and I’m in a great place emotionally." — Olivia Newton-John, on why she looks so good. [Mirror]
• "I was inspired to become a citizen of the U.S. by Barack Obama and his vision of the future. Although I missed being able to vote for him on Tuesday, being sworn in as a citizen knowing he is the next president made me so proud. I am now an American. If McCain and [Sarah] Palin had won, I may have stayed in bed." — Alan Cumming, who became an American last week. [Page Six]
• "I'm just going through balancing [living without my mom]. And I always used to have that support system, you know. My mom would be there; no matter what, she was there before everything. We were together for like 30 years. And you know now when I'm on that stage and I look out and I say, 'What am I going to do with the rest of my life?' Like when does a real life start?' Because I have sacrificed real life to be a celebrity and to give this art to people, which is great. It is great that I was able to do that, I'm not trying to shun that in any way, but it's definitely a Catch-22 and it's bittersweet." — Kanye West. [USA Today]