That was two weeks before Virginia socialites Tareq and Michaele Salahi infamously crashed the Obamas’ state dinner for the prime minister of India.
The Dardens mistakenly showed up a day early for a tour scheduled through their congressman.
The White House and Secret Service both said that the Dardens went through the appropriate security screenings and were allowed into the breakfast as a courtesy because there were no public tours the day they had arrived.
That explanation was news to Harvey Darden, 67, a retired pharmacist, who said that he and his wife thought that they were starting their tour and were not told about the change - until they were ushered into the East Room, offered a buffet spread, and told they would be meeting with the president of the United States.
“The further we got into the White House, the more surprised we were,’’ Darden told the Associated Press in a telephone interview. “My wife looked at me and I looked at her, and I said, ‘You know, I don’t know if we’re in the right place.’ ’’
They approached a White House aide with their concern that they had veered off course but were told to “just go with the flow,’’ Darden said.
“I felt kind of funny because I was the only man in the room that wasn’t dressed in a coat and tie,’’ he said. “I was just a plain tourist.’’
Michelle Obama visits Toys for Tots warehouse
QUANTICO, Va. - Delivering a red Christmas sack bulging with toys, Michelle Obama appealed yesterday for donations for older children for the US Marine Corps Reserve’s annual Toys for Tots program for needy children.
Obama visited a Toys for Tots warehouse near Marine Corps Base Quantico to deliver a portion of the more than 500 toys collected during a White House drive. She helped sort a pile of toys for girls, and appealed for gifts for 11- to 14-year-olds after longtime volunteer and base public affairs officer Wilma Vaughn told her about the shortage of toys for older children.
President Obama and his wife personally donated toys to the White House drive, her office said. No details were given on what the items were, other than that daughters Malia, 11, and Sasha, 8, helped make selections for children in their age groups.
