Peter Baker has written a revealing article today about the dismissive way the Obama White House treated a long-time friend, Desirée Rogers. Now, I’m not interested in Ms. Rogers staying or leaving, with the Salahi incident a monumental disaster (especially for the Secret Service), but there’s a way to do things and a way not to. Baker’s article gives you insight into the character of the White House and how they treat even long-time friends.

For Ms. Rogers, associates said the episode proved a searing experience that has soured her on Washington. She believes she was left largely undefended by the White House, by her colleagues, including Mr. Axelrod, Robert Gibbs and even her close friend, Valerie Jarrett. And while she is unwilling to discuss her story publicly, several associates shared her account in the belief that her side has been lost in the swirl of hearings, backbiting and paparazzilike coverage. “As she put it, ‘They never lifted a finger to help me set the record straight,’ ” said one of the associates, who insisted on not being identified to avoid alienating the White House. “She didn’t get any help from Gibbs, no help from Axelrod, no help from Valerie Jarrett. Nobody came to her defense.”

Ms. Rogers is the stunningly beautiful former social secretary who ran into trouble when her own image became more prominent than her position could sustain. Taking “social” to a new level publicly, Ms. Rogers ran afoul of David Axelrod, the man who delighted in vilifying Hillary Rodham Clinton whenever he got the chance during the 2008 primaries. Now, I’m not saying Mr. Axelrod has a problem with strong women, but…

Needless to say, the Salahi party crashing incident was a White House embarrassment, creating an opening for Ms. Rogers to be served up as scapegoat, even if there was a larger problem that what just Ms. Rogers controlled. From Mr. Baker:

After the Salahi incident, these associates said Ms. Rogers was barred by the White House from testifying before Congress or giving interviews or even answering written questions. She was told she could not attend the Kennedy Center Honors, a major annual Washington event. And even her decision to finally resign leaked before she could secure a new job.

So Ms. Rogers is leaving the White House and Washington never having been allowed to describe publicly what happened that night four months ago. But in conversations with associates, she has defended herself by noting that she had positioned a staff member to greet guests at the East Portico landing just as the Social Office had sometimes done in the past. And she has expressed disappointment that her work at creating a “people’s house” for the first couple has been overshadowed by one lapse.

“It’s been very difficult for her,” said Amy Zantzinger, who was President George W. Bush’s last social secretary and has become a friend of Ms. Rogers’s. “And I think what can’t be lost is there are all these unbelievable events they did at the White House when she was there, particularly bringing in all the artists and musicians. I don’t think that’s ever been done before to this magnitude.”

Lisa Caputo also weighed in:

Lisa Caputo, who worked in the East Wing under Mrs. Clinton when she was first lady, said Ms. Rogers had weathered the hothouse glare of Washington with grace. “She’s done a fantastic job of opening the White House,” Ms. Caputo said.

“She was put in a position where the spotlight was put on her in a different way,” Ms. Caputo added, “coming in as someone who was not a Washingtonian, coming into a high-profile senior role and being the first African-American in that role. The combination of all three makes it not easy. I would venture to say she’s had a larger mountain to climb.”

The way Pres. Obama and his White House team handled the departure of Ms. Rogers is wrong, regardless of whether she should have been fired or not.

In the worst of situations, a person who has served faithfully and with distinction doesn’t deserve to be thrown out disrespectfully, which includes not having the opportunity to even procure another position for herself. Just because she appears to be a woman of means is no reason to summarily humiliate her and put her financial security or the future of her career in jeopardy.

I’ve said for a very long time that Obama is as cold as they come. (Being willing to sell women out in health care legislation is an example.) The disrespect with which he treated Ms. Rogers’ departure is more proof. That not even her long time friend Valerie Jarrett intervened to allow Ms. Rogers a graceful exit is illustrative of the brutally short memory and What Have You Done For Me Lately political creed.

Rogers deserved better. Mr. Axelrod is classless.