When the country was in the worst of a recession,  Congress was battling over Obamacare and hundreds of thousands are losing jobs, what would you do if you're in the White House? Throw an unbelievably over-the-top Halloween party.

A new tell-all book by New York Times correspondent Jodi Kantor reveals a lavish, expensive Alice In Wonderland party that was thrown at the White House in secret by the Obamas during the height of the nation's recession in 2009.   The book, called "The Obamas", recalls the first Halloween party thrown by the Obama family at the White House, an event so over the top George Lucas even sent the original Chewbacca from Star Wars to mingle with the guests.  Johnny Depp and producer Tim Burton created and staged the party.  Why did we never hear of it? According to the book, White House officials feared that a nation facing 10% unemployment,  fury from the TEA Party over the economy, and a pending vote on Obamacare would view this Hollywood-esque event as insensitive to a hurting nation.   However, prior to the party, the White House made sure that other Halloween events staged for thousands of D.C. area school children would be well-covered by  the press corps.

More From 870 AM KFLD