The White Paper Report
"...because not everything in life is black & white"

"...there has NEVER been anyone in the White House at any time who has created such an army of staffers whose sole duties are the facilitation of the First Lady's social life. One wonders why she needs so much help, at taxpayers' expense, when even Hillary (Clinton) had three; Jackie Kennedy, one; Laura Bush, one, and prior to Mamie Eisenhower, social help came from the President's own pocket."

Fact: According to the 2009 Annual Report to Congress on White House Staff, as of July 1, 2009, there are currently 16 staff members with a title specifically indicating they work for Michelle Obama. In other words, there are 16 people with "First Lady" specifically in their title such as Dana Lewis, Special Assistant and Personal Aide to the First Lady, with an annual salary of $60,000.
   The 29-page report lists not only Michelle Obama's staff but collateral employees assigned dual positions such as Camille Johnston who serves as both Special Assistant to the President and Director of Communication for the First Lady with an annual salary of $102,000. Additionally, the report lists six other staffers who do not have "First Lady" in their title but are a part of the Michele Obama's office staff, such as Desiree Rogers, Special Assistant to the President and White House Social Secretary ($113,000), and Natalie Bookey, Staff Assistant ($36,000).

Claim: "There has never been anyone in the White House at any time that has created such an army of staffers whose sole duties are the facilitation of the First Lady’s social life."
Fact: Kim Coryat, an archives technician at the William J. Clinton Presidential Library, explained it can be difficult to nail down a precise count of staff considering "White House staffing for all offices ebbs and flows with time." However, she further explained that White House telephone directory records indicate Hillary Clinton had at least a staff of 13 as of October 1993; 18 as of April 1997; and 19 as of March 2000.

   With respect to Laura Bush, Katie McCormick Lelyveld, Michelle Obama’s press secretary, emphasized that Obama's staff is conparable to Bush's in size and resembles a very similar staffing model. We were able to verify that Laura Bush maintained a staff of some 24 assistants, though the actual number fluctuated in accordance to event requirements while 18 maintained a reference to the "First Lady" in their title. Additionally, the combined annual salaries for the 22 staffers we can specifically identify as working for Michelle Obama comes to $1.6 million. For the 18 we could identify as working for Laura Bush in 2008, the total is $1.4 million.
   What is most disturbing about the facts surrounding the "Office" of First Lady is that while she is assigned NO specific duties or job function, she employes more personnel than most corporate CEO's and in true Washington bureaucratic redundancy, maintains "special assistants to the executive Assisant to the Director of..." And none of this takes into account her hair stylist and clothing designer.
   Case in point, Camille Johnston, Special Assistant to the President and Director of Communications for the First Lady, $102,000; Catherine Lelyveld, Director and Press Secretary to the First Lady, $84,000; Tyler Lechtenberg, Associate Director of Correspondence for the First Lady, $45,000; Deilia Jackson, Deputy Associate Director of Correspondence for the First Lady, $36,000. But equally disturbing, there are some 30 unspecified "Staff" and "Executive" assistants assigned to the White House and First Lady.
   We can conclude nothing from this report except that the Obama White House, in their pledge to decrease the rate of unemployment in America, has taken the lead by increasing administration staff in positions that provide no tangible benefit to the gross national product but rather contribute to the increase in national debt... however minor in substance.

Credits for this Report:
FactCheck.org
Canada Free Press
White House/Office of the Press Secretary
Congressional Record
The Last Crusade