Behind The Scenes White House Pictures: State Dinner, Singh Visit

The White House has released two dozen new behind-the-scenes photos from Wednesday's (very full) day of festivities around the arrival of Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.

The pictures are below, you can vote on your favorite.

President Barack Obama and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh of India walk down the Cross Hall as the official State Arrival ceremony begins in the East Room of the White House, Nov. 24, 2009. (Official White House Photo by Chuck Kennedy)

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Comments

[MissStylish]

12:01 PM on 11/30/2009

I love the gold strapless dress on Michelle, she looks so regal. For a look for less version, check out

http://firstladiesstyle.onsugar.com/3081250

[SABriz]

10:47 AM on 11/30/2009

As I was watching the news reports of the State dinner (and before the whole Party Crashers incident) I was struck by one thought. We are a country in recession, our national debt is trillions of dollars and we are lynching any banker who gets a bonus. Yet, the White House spends how much money erecting a 'tent' for the dinner? First of all, I have never seen a 'tent' such as that (glass ceiling, etc.). Do you mean to tell me that there was not a room in the ALREADY EXISTING WHITE HOUSE that could have accommodated this function? How much money was spent on the tent and everything that went with it? These are the expenditures that should be prevented and while some may say that it wasn't a lot, ANY savings adds up. "A penny saved is a penny earned!" We need to start worrying about the pennies!

[NOLA2]

11:06 AM on 11/29/2009

The Haves and the Have-Nots...Quite a contrast today on HuffPo with the lead story on Americans on Food Stamps and this expensive dinner. Let's hope a lot was accomplished.

[MorgaineChya]

03:37 PM on 11/29/2009

Especially when India is the country that has benefitted from American jobs being sent overseas.

Let's see---Obama has done zip for unemployment, his Afghanistan quagmire will finish off out economy, and already many Americans are having trouble providing food for their families.

That's a pretty clear demnstration of Obama's priorities, and America and American workers obviously come behind India and its prime minister.

[ss193]

09:21 AM on 11/30/2009

Morgaine...It sometimes seems as if all the Pres. needs is a fiddle and a few flames in the background..Maybe what he really needs is a Kissinger to fly around the world saying "peace is at hand", to subvert reality once in a while.
Most of the electorate might feel better about him if he at least 'acted" like he cared about the very real suffering that is going on in our country. I was a big fan, but now I feel he has a very disassociative side to his personality. He probably would make a very good mediator in some situations, like Israel-Palestine. The list of people he has thrown under the bus is getting longer..latest is Greg Craig, whose treatment was "cold" in the extreme. I guess that's one way to keep the remaining staff on their toes..! All master politicians probably need this trait, but it helps if they can at least fake empathy.

[Canadianpointofview]

06:31 PM on 11/28/2009

Love it. Everything is perfect. Congradulations Mrs. Obama. It was just perfect and very beautiful including your dress. You were stunning and very gracious.

And thanks to Huffington Post to allow us to see these pictures.

[janie@atthelake]

03:28 PM on 11/29/2009

Everything almost perfect.....I would like to know more about behind the scenes with the secret service.

[verycold]

07:05 AM on 11/30/2009

There was nothing perfect about that night unless you consider the security of this president to have little importance.

It seems that "rain" was the deciding factor. This WH is run by a bunch of amateurs.

[melwaukee]

10:34 AM on 11/28/2009

Question: What's with that huge hedge of ivy on the mantel in the Oval office? Is it's purpose to hide electronic devices? Sharp shooters? What?

[H321]

10:30 PM on 11/27/2009

Nancy Pelosi looks so cute in Pic #1. She's a sexpot that one.

[MelRoy]

08:43 PM on 11/29/2009

I must say, I like the cut of Nancy's dress, and the outfit Mrs Shamalayan wore to the dinner, but both could have done with a bit more color. Katie Couric had the right idea.

In fact, I think Michelle Obama's color was a bit weak, but that's just because she pulls off wearing hot colors so well, as do most women of color. For me, I would like to have seen the dress in the same color as Alma Powell's jacket, not so low waisted (made her butt look big) and, for the PR benefit, "regular" sequins instead of real silver ones.

[Marrymeplease]

10:00 PM on 11/27/2009

I wish people who claim to have voted for Obama would realize the mess which was left for this man to try to clean up.He couldn't walk into that Oval office and wave a wond and everything would be fix. We weren't lefted in a darn ditch, Bush lefted us in the dam grand canyon.

[yvonne61]

10:43 PM on 11/27/2009

THANK-YOU people blaming OBAMA for BUSH mess

[MorgaineChya]

03:40 PM on 11/29/2009

We, as American citizens, will have to sacrifice to clean up both Bush and Obama's mess.

Obviously, the Obamas aren't going to sacrifice jack. Indeed, they will grab every taxdollar they can get for their lavish lifestyle.

Obama has created many problems since his inauguration, and broken 7 major campaign promises. He has ignored other big problems and now they are getting increasingly difficult--if not impossible--to fix.

[pantherburns]

09:57 PM on 11/29/2009

What are the seven major campaign promises broken? No fair if you have to wait for Fox news to delineate them for you. Also, on a curious note, how many of these broken campaign promises do you want to see fulfilled? Or more likely, have you been fighting against every one of them?

[irisda]

09:14 PM on 11/27/2009

Dear haters,

learn something about diplomacy. the daily beast and the times have articles on what was actually discussed behind the scenes. If you look at the news you'd think all they did was have fun. But serious matters were discussed, including trade and the environment. It's so sad that all that info is being buried. Only the policy wonks bother to look for it.

The press is too busy dumbing down the news, and you people fall in their trap, you come here and complain about state dinners without finding out the role of these ceremonial affairs in diplomacy.

It's the same as dealing with people in your work life. you discuss, you negociate hard and eventually you invite the person over for dinner or a drink. good impressions matter and may sway the person you're dealing with. The state dinner is the political way of doing this. that is why this has been a tradition for a long time in America and elsewhere. That is why there is a planned budget for it. They do that for a reason!

Look beyond appearances!

[MorgaineChya]

03:45 PM on 11/29/2009

Dear worshippers

Look beyond Obama's meaningless promises and pretty speeches to see what he's doing to destroy our country.

He's already broken 7 major promises, and we are about to add another one tothe list as he has done everything he can to gut the real HCR he promised.

The worst in the HCR bait-and-switch skam he's pulled on Americans is his secret meeting behind closed doors with pHarma where he guaranteed that our government will not attempt to negotiate with pHarma for lower drug prices.

Obama has ignored unemployment, and it is at the point now where many Americans are now using food stamps to feed their family.

Look beyond appearances!

[rollingdivision]

04:08 PM on 11/27/2009

The country is on its butt, more people unemployed, more on food stamps, more houses being foreclosed, more only able to find part time jobs, record deficits, ....... hey let's have a huge blowout white house gala party!!

[SpankedMeGood]

04:32 PM on 11/27/2009

Whatsa madda? You weren't invited? Poor thing.

[oscartucker]

07:05 PM on 11/27/2009

I enjoyed the photos until I came upon this; I knew someone would be here whining and belly aching. You need to find out some details about State Dinners and realize why the dinner is given.

[MorgaineChya]

03:59 PM on 11/29/2009

Strawman Argument.

I've not read anyone here complaining abour a state dinner being held...it's the opulent extravagance, to the point of trashtacky, at a time when we cannot afford it, that's the issue.

Nothing is wrong with a state dinner. However, the state dinner could have been done as a much smaller event, and held in the WH, like other presidents have done--and our economy was great during those previous state dinners, too!

Many Americans, for the first time in their life, have had to use government assistance to feed their family! We are involved in 2 wars now, and Obama is the one who escalated Afghanistan into a full-blown quagmire.

Obama, before the first month in office had ended, starting sending more troops to Afghanistan. So far in 2009, he has committed 6400 troops to Afghanistan (there were 3600 troops there from Bush/Cheeeneey), which will cost taxpayers--just for support of the troops Obama has committed so far--$64billion every year.

If Obama continues his squandering of our nation's resources on unnecessary big-ticket items, he will finish off the job Bush started in destroying our country.

[koelschwolf]

01:58 PM on 11/27/2009

why do you refer to Pres. Obama aus a "fraudulent" president? He was elected by the majority of Americans and the last time I looked, in a democratic government the majority rules.
So you might as well sit beck and accept it: we have a democratic party that controls the congress, along with a democratic president. Its time you Republicans quit your ranting.

[MorgaineChya]

04:38 PM on 11/29/2009

Because, like a bait-and-switch used-car salesman, Obama promised us one thing and delivered something completely different.

[JJK]

11:24 AM on 11/27/2009

OK. I think Mrs. Obama looked great in Naeem Khan's dress. I also don't begrudge it to her, as she puts up with a lot (like Secret Service "protection" that allowed two uninvited guests into the House where she, her husband and children are supposed to be "safe").

BUT, I do think if a Republican President's spouse (at a time of economic distress when the shipping of jobs overseas, and especially to India, is a bit of, ahem, an "issue") wore a dress made over three weeks by 40 relatively lowly paid workers in a workshop in India, I think many of us on HP would be just the teensiest, tiniest, littlest bit critical. Don't you?

[GirlOutWest]

11:51 AM on 11/27/2009

Maybe they're trying to bring some of the jobs back?!

[JJK]

12:37 PM on 11/27/2009

and how exactly is what i described accomplishing that? the only way to get US companies not to outsource jobs is through tax and other incentives. india will not and should not say no to an american company that wants to employ some of its 1,000,000,000 people.

[xlntcat]

06:48 PM on 11/28/2009

Only if you enjoy being pettiness.

[mistlesuede]

10:48 AM on 11/27/2009

First Lady Michelle was a knockout the evening of the State Dinner! I don't think I've ever seen her look more beautiful.

[Alexandre Laudet]

06:25 PM on 11/27/2009

I agree, i was looking at these photos, remembering then candidate Obama comment on how beautiful his wife is at the convention last year and thinking, this is one gorgeous and classy looking first lady!

[Keish Williams]

09:56 AM on 11/27/2009

I know there was a lot of discussion on how he is the first Indian president.

[ddDinah]

09:17 AM on 11/27/2009

Michelle's dress was beautiful, I loved IT. She looked so ravishingly beautiful. I heard that a designer from India designed it especially for her, HOW MARVELOUS and it 40 people working full time for three weeks to create? Oh, and they did it in India. What was it that Obama said
*“That we have to compromise and sacrifice for one another in order to get things done”
If we don’t wake up as a nation with a new kind of leadership…for how we want this country to work, then we won’t get universal health care. The truth is, in order to get things like universal health care and a revamped education system, then someone is going to have to give up a piece of their pie so that someone else can have more.


*Well, Mrs. First Lady, we have sacrificed. We have only a few pie crust crumbs left on our plates. So, who is that “someone else” who can have more of the pie, thanks to our sacrifices? Would that be you?

*http://www.noquarterusa.net/blog/2009/11/27/forty-jobs-for-india/#more-36765

[SpankedMeGood]

09:45 AM on 11/27/2009

Obama won the primary 18 months ago. He won the presidency a year ago.

You losers at NoQuarter would have a more fulfilling life if you accepted that. But since you can't, you're guaranteed a life of misery, despair and teeth gnashing. Seeing you so miserable makes me very very happy.

By the way, where's that whi.tey tape? LOL!

[1088]

10:32 AM on 11/27/2009

Mrs. Obama has sacrificed for all of us! she has given up her career and working for us for free, doing all that she does for Military families, mentoring young girls, giving us awareness of healthy eating, opening the White House to everybody, especially the poor people that lives in Washington. So I say to you, being ignorant is appropriate in the party you're affiliated with, the hate party.

[party-of-one]

01:25 PM on 11/27/2009

She is certainly doing a lot as First Lady, thoughtul, creative, valuegrounded and distinctive. I am not sure I would say she has "given up her career", however. It seems more like shifting gears and embracing an opportunity to influence the nation and the world.

[MorgaineChya]

04:42 PM on 11/29/2009

The Obamas have sacrificed nothing....except for their own legacies.

And, unfortunately, after they are through, it will be a long time before we see another African-American president/First Family.

[KIVPossum]

08:00 AM on 11/27/2009

So, there's a peephole looking into the Oval Office. Wonder when it was put in and why.