Why you don't crash the President's party

The Virginia couple accused of crashing President Obama's first White House state dinner on Tuesday are named in at least 16 different civil suits in Fauquier County, sometimes as plaintiffs, sometimes as defendants.

A trawl through court records on Thursday revealed a more complete picture of Tareq and Michaele Salahi, who have left an extensive paper trail in federal bankruptcy and state court filings.

CNN.com

Say what you will about what it says about White House security that this couple was able to crash their party, but if one thing is sure, it's that if you cross President Obama, don't expect to get away with it just because they can't put criminal charges on you.

This whole episode and the media's handling of it definitely is reminiscent of how ruthless and assertive of a candidate Obama used to be during his first campaign in 1996 for a seat in my own hometown of Chicago. In the election he held himself like a tough Chicago politician, using election rules to knock all of his opponents out of the race by technicalities, even the incumbent. The media tears through reputations much like the well oiled Chicago political machine did during it's prime which leaves no doubt as to why there's always accusations of slanderous spin.

It seems that the whole dinner thing was a security gaffe more than anything else, given the details of the story.

Granted the couple didn't lie to the secret service, they probably won't face criminal charges. If they did lie, they're in a whole mess of trouble and will have a lot more to worry about than their bankruptcy.

If they didn't lie, then the message from the Oval Office is quite clear, and it should be known to anyone who tries such a stunt, don't try to pull one on the White House or a public personality or the media will air your dirty laundry.

Even if they can't hit you with legal action, the media will never miss an opportunity to prey on your life story and personal details like piranhas. That's a nice little weapon to have in your passive presidential war chest. You don't have to really do anything, the media will take care of it for you.

When your troubles include..

Oasis has $965,000 in liabilities.

more than $60,000 in credit card debt and an "unknown" amount in federal back taxes.

"Debtor has not filed corporate taxes since tax year 2006," the filing says. "Has always previously had business loss, with refund flowing to shareholders."

Nearly $3,000 in gasoline purchases to Exxon-Mobil and more than $95,000 in legal fees.

Two pending lawsuits against Oasis, one for more than $300,000 for "catering services" and one judgment against the company.

A 2004 Aston Martin worth $150,000 when it was repossessed.

A repossessed boat valued at $90,000 with $56,000 still owed.

A closed business checking account, $3,800 in the red.

$224,000 owed "for rental of FedEx Redskins Suite and related hospitality services,".

..all that, I would think that the last thing you would want to do is crash a presidential party if you considered the consequences for even a second. It seems that with all the problems these two people had, they still must've somehow thought it a foregone conclusion that they wouldn't get caught.

Oy vey, the stupidity of some people.

Talk about delusions of grandeur.