She arrived in Washington with more of a splash than any White House social secretary before her, and no wonder: Desiree Rogers had obvious style, wealth, a Harvard MBA, years of corporate experience, and friends at the top, most importantly Barack and Michelle Obama.

She defined her goal as nothing less than bringing life to the Obama presidency. And she pulled off a series of innovative, high-wattage events that seemed to be doing just that. She even got the nation's governors to dance in a conga line.

Enter Tareq and Michaele Salahi.

Now Rogers is under withering scrutiny for her office's role in the infamous security breakdown at the state dinner. A woman with a reputation as a consummate perfectionist is being criticized for dropping the ball _ and, by some, for putting her own aggrandizement over her job.

For now, the White House seems firmly on her side, and is protecting her from appearing before a congressional panel. But the turn of events is bewildering to Rogers' friends and associates, who say she's being misunderstood and unfairly targeted, and her accomplishments ignored.

"It's extraordinary to see someone's life's work mischaracterized in this way," says John W. Rogers Jr., Desiree's former husband, with whom she remains close. "I just don't understand it. She's working 12-15 hours a day, just trying to do a great job. Desiree has brought excellence to everything she's done in her life."

John Rogers, who spoke in a telephone interview from Chicago, was a guest at the state dinner, and though he admits he's biased, he found it to be "extraordinary _ if you watched her work, you saw her attention to detail." Indeed, by virtually all accounts, the social secretary pulled off an elegant evening, a logistically complicated affair for 300-plus guests under a romantic pavilion lined with magnolia branches.

The chef was whisked in from one of New York's top restaurants, and the entertainment was headlined by Oscar winner Jennifer Hudson. Rogers herself appeared in a couture dress by Comme des Garcons, befitting her reputation as a fashionista.

But it was another part of her reputation that soon came into question: that of an executive who pays sharp attention to detail. When it emerged that the Salahis had managed to get through security without being on the guest list, blame fell on the Secret Service, which has admitted failures, but also on the social office, which didn't have staff stationed at the checkpoints _ a departure from past administrations.

"I mean, come on, even Wal-Mart has a greeter," Rep. Loretta Sanchez (D-Calif.) told Politico.com.