Could it be that the Obamas just didn’t want to let “those people” into their house?

Via Pundette, some details about that “tent” in which the Obamas hosted their first big state dinner, in honor of India’s prime minister:

The “tent” is more of a bullet-proof pavilion, though the White House is referring to it as a “tent.” It has glassed-in windows, lights, a sound system, heaters, and hard floor…as well as two satellite structures on each side.

Yeah, that’s not a “tent.” Tents are things held up with poles. They sway in the wind. They leak. They have grass floors.

Not this one. A wooden floor, several feet off the ground.

Pundette wants to know how much it cost to build (and, I would think, to take back down). She writes:

I understand that state dinners are de rigueur and pomp and circumstance have their place. But if the Obamas had stuck with the usual 130 guests they wouldn’t have had to build a new house in the back yard. The White House is already well-equipped to host state dinners. But the Obamas don’t think small. Their talk about sacrificing and belt-tightening is for thee.

Yeah, look, the President has to have his pomp and circumstance. The flourishes go with the job. They’re important, perception-wise.

But they didn’t have to go all unprecedented on it, either.

And one more thing - this is absolutely precious:

The special dinner menu — a lavish mélange of Indian and American favorites as well as several excellent wines — was rife with typos.

Hey! Who the hell let the State Department in here?