She Knew What She Was Doing

It's being dismissed as a faux pas, or maybe she was just a little tipsy. We refer to White House Senior Adviser Valerie Jarrett and her insulting request to a senior military officer the other night, at an exclusive dinner hosted by the Alfalfa Club.

From the Daily Caller, citing a source who saw it happen:

According to our tipster, Jarrett was seated at the head table along with several other big-name politicians and a handful of high-ranking military officials. As an officer sporting several stars walked past Jarrett, she signaled for his attention and said, “I’d like another glass of wine.”

White House economic adviser Austan Goolsbee, who was seated next to Jarret, began “cracking up nervously,” our tipster said, but no one pointed out to Jarrett that the man sporting a chestful of medals was not her waiter.

“The guy dutifully went up and got her a glass of wine, and then came back and gave it to her and took a seat at the table,” our tipster said. “Everyone is in tuxedos and gowns at this thing, but the military people are in full dress uniform.”

While most of the MSM has ignored this story--or they've tried to explain it away for Ms. Jarrett--the truth is painfully clear. Fact is, Ms. Jarrett is anything but stupid. And, assuming she wasn't intoxicated, she certainly knew the uniformed officer wasn't her waiter. Indeed, I haven't seen a waiter's outfit that even remotely resembles the dress uniform of a military officer. But she still asked a flag officer to top off her drink.

No, it wasn't a social gaffe, or the product of too much wine. Rather, it was a display of utter contempt towards the U.S. military, by one of the administration's highest-ranking officials. Ms. Jarrett pulled her little stunt because she knew she could get by with it. Having the president's ear has certain advantages.

And, she probably knew the military folks in attendance wouldn't challenge her. From Jarrett's perspective a two or three-star general or admiral is little more than an office flunky, and she probably has an equally low opinion of their superiors. Readers will note their hasn't been a peeo from the SecDef or the JCS Chairman. They're too busy trying to minimize defense cuts and don't want to get on Ms. Jarrett's bad side. If it means a career officer gets humiliated at a tony dinner, that's the price they're willing to pay.

And sadly, the officer went along with Jarrett's request, so (apparently) senior officers have been told to honor her wishes. Too bad the officer didn't remind the White House adviser that their job description doesn't include fetching drinks. And too bad the military brass (hellooo, Admiral Mullen) didn't follow up with a formal complaint to the White House.

Unfortunately, we've been down this road before. White House staffers insulted General Barry McCaffrey during the early days of the Clinton Administration, and Hillary herself pressed uniformed military aides into service as waiters at a White House function. Now Ms. Jarrett (who is cut from the same ideological cloth) expects senior officers to serve as wine stewards--and her request was honored.

Military officers serve at the pleasure of the commander-in-chief. But nothing says they must honor unreasonable and insulting requests from one of his cronies. In another era, the White House adviser might have received a different response. Where's Barney Greenwald when you need him?