WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENTS DINNER

We arrived to the mob scene around 6:30. On each side of the red carpet was a group of squealing maniacs. I had dropped Kate off and then went to find a parking spot. No easy task. Meeting up with her wasn't easy. But we found each other and then started to fight the crowds to hit the hospitality suites. First stop Gannett/USA TODAY. Since I once worked at USA TODAY I figured I'd see some familiar faces. I did, next stop was CBS. That's where we met up with Gary Nurenberg...he had our tickets for the dinner.

The White House Correspondents dinner is a rite of passage here in Washington. A blend of Politicians and performers. Actors and Actresses mingling with Congressmen and Senators, not to mention all those journalists. It's also a great chance to catch up with old friends.

For me it ended up feeling like an evening in Ybor City rather than the Nation's Capitol. It started when I was introduced to Phil Metlin. He's the News Director at the Fox station here in town. But he was in Tampa when I was there. So we talked about Tampa for a while. Next up I bumped into Rich Murphy, then it was Elisa Berkowitz. I worked with both of them at WFLA in Tampa. Later at the after party at the Newseum I talked with Julie Jarvis who works at NBC. She also worked with me at WFLA. With the place crawling with Tampa types Julie said, "This is really creeping me out!" Eric Shirling was also at the Newseum. He used to produce for me about a decade ago at WFLA. Now he's a big shot at CNN. Elisa is leaving Washington to move to Atlanta and to work at CNN. I asked her if she was going to have to bow down to Eric. Eric rolled his eyes and said, "Oh please!"

The funniest moment came as I was standing outside the women's bathroom waiting for Kate. I was at the foot of the escalators. The dinner was just about ready to get going. I heard this clamor, all this racket. It culminated in a crescendo.

"Ben and Jen turn around so we can get one more picture."

Steam was coming out of Ben's ears. He refused to turn his head. Jen on the other hand turned around with a smile.

"I'm sorry we have to get in."

Poor ole Ben he looked like he was getting several root canals without anasthesia. As I was watching him I couldn't help but think back before "Good Will Hunting" what he would have given for a moment like that. Photographers chasing him! But now that he's gotten the fame he craved, he is a prisoner of it. He got through the metal detectors as quickly as he could. All he wanted to do was to get away from the Paparazzi and groupies. But I couldn't help but think he didn't know what he was getting into. The minute the door opened and he entered the room all those people who paid 200 dollars a ticket were up with their cameras ready to pounce.