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As Phil already mentioned, we ran into Fred Thompson as he was leaving the White House Correspondents' Dinner on Saturday night. ("The Prom" is slang for the WHCD.) Thompson's annoyed-to-be-here demeanor made me think that, in the end, he may decide not to run; if you don't like shaking hands and schmoozing, a presidential campaign probably isn't for you. It's possible, of course, that we just caught Thompson at a bad time (he had just suffered through Rich Little's terrible routine). Still, the contrast with Mitt Romney, who I caught up with as he was jovially holding court at National Review's pre-dinner reception, was quite striking.

Though I chatted with lots of famous-for-DC types, the only "real" celebrity I had a chance to talk to was American Idol's Chris Sligh. (Note that we didn't go to the dinner itself, and that we finished the night at the Reuters after-party rather than at one of the more exclusive shindigs where the stars were hanging out.) It's probably just as well; talking to celebs can be unpleasant.