Tareq and Michaele Salahi on 'Inside Edition': The Bleat Goes On

By Friday, the fourth day of what already feels like a years-long publicity marathon, Tareq and Michaele Salahi -- aka the White House gate crashers and federal grand jury subjects -- sought to clarify a few things.

"I know who I am and that's what helped me get through all the name-calling, 'fame whore,' and all that," Michaele told "Inside Edition," the celeb-heavy syndicated interview show that aired in Washington on Friday morning. The Fun Couple had gone party-hopping Wednesday night in a stretch limo with the requisite camera crew in tow for a short segment that took the Champagne-quaffing duo to a couple of hot spots, where, host Deborah Norville snarked, they were actually invited.

At the very moment the Obamas were hosting their second state dinner, the Salahis -- she in a micro-mini beaded dress and an ankle-grazing white mink coat -- feared the worst: the Secret Service stopped the limo, then ticketed the chauffeur for running a red light before trying to turn the monster stretch around in an off-limits area near the White House.

Tareq told NBC News that this unscripted vehicular flap was "a terrible coincidence," with Michaele noting that it created "a very sick feeling."

Well, yes, but from the opening shots at the Four Seasons Hotel to their arrival at Kellari Taverna, their mood seemed to be all party-hearty. They met up with more than a dozen friends who'd helped them weather the self-inflicted ordeal that began Nov. 20 when they breached White House security by insisting they were invited guests whose names were inexplicably missing from the official list.

Politico reports that according to people with the couple, a miffed Tareq complained that the couple's RadarOnline.com interview -- which was posted Tuesday morning -- contained (gasp!!!) recycled statements made on an Australian TV show some months back. To wit: That he felt the White House should apologize to him and Michaele for the aggravation they've endured since talking themselves into the cocktail reception for the Indian prime minister before the actual state dinner, which they did not stick around for.

From Kellari it was a short ride to the just-opened Buddha Bar for more food, adult beverages and general merriment. The Salahis seemed determined not to let the pesky matters of at least one federal investigation, a few lawsuits and a bitter family feud ruin their evening.

As humorist Dave Barry likes to say, you can't make this stuff up.

But that certainly does not mean that members of what is quaintly termed polite society need to encourage, or even condone, such blatant publicity stunts, Anna Post all but sniffed during a brief phone chat.

"One of the most important things about etiquette is being genuine and respectful, and they are neither," said this great-granddaughter of etiquette queen Emily Post and herself a practicing deportment diva and author. The Salahis' infamous White House caper and the ensuing uproar "took attention away from the honored guest and that is not acceptable. . . . They frankly are people who crave attention that I would rather not give."

While declining to comment on the behavior of specific individuals because "that would be rude," Judith Martin, the ever-correct Miss Manners, consented to discuss generic public displays of egomania.

"Should the newspapers just chronicle good behavior?" she asked. No, no and no. "From the etiquette point of view, we need examples of bad behavior as well as good." The only reason to stop covering them "is if they have begun to bore people."

One could argue they are off to a very good start, challenging the nation's notoriously short attention span with plans for a book, action figures, Halloween costumes (will those red and gold saris be made in India? China? Virginia?) and their much-discussed role on Bravo's "Real Housewives of DC," set to air in the next few months.

On the other hand, some local restaurant publicists deeply and truly want Tareq and Michaele to keep on stepping out in high style.

"They are now boldface names who are always good for a gossip item," said Linda Roth, president of her eponymous PR firm near D.C. "As long as their credit card works, they will be a media asset for restaurants."

"Of course, I would welcome the Salahis in our clients' dining rooms," said Kate Gibbs of Hisaoka Communications. "Couples who show up on time for reserved seats -- their own -- to enjoy fine food and drink are especially welcome."

But Jill Collins, whose firm has represented several area dining establishments, isn't so sure. "I remember restaurant PR people calling Monica Lewinsky's lawyers and inviting them to dinner. It was happening like crazy. And there was a media circus every place she went, with satellite trucks outside. I'm not entirely sure it did any good for the restaurant. I wouldn't seek out the Salahis, but if they did come, I would hope they would be generous with their tips."

Following the couple's adventures as they swan around town has made publicist Marina Ein more than a tad nervous. And they're not even her clients.

The longtime PR whiz, who recently threw a book party for Kitty Kelley, the controversial author of "Oprah," said that if she represented the Salahis, "I would absolutely tell them to stop talking, to cease and desist. This is not helping them at all. They have serious legal issues, and every time they give an interview or put themselves out there, they are jeopardizing their situation."

If they won't shut up voluntarily -- and there is no reason to think they will, having just hired a new publicist -- perhaps the media can borrow a page from those journalists who could no longer bear writing about every little traffic offense and alcohol-induced hissy fit of Paris Hilton's.

Back in 2005, Lloyd Grove, then the New York Daily News "Lowdown" gossip columnist, trumpeted what would become a two-year moratorium on the blond celeb-utante. It ended only when he and the News parted company, and Grove later admitted he banned Miz Hilton to goose his own career.

Two years later, when The Associated Press imposed its own experimental weeklong Hilton blackout, Grove told the wire service she represented "in the worst sense, the best expression of the maxim that no bad deed goes unrewarded in our pop culture."