What: The National Press Foundation's annual dinner

Where: The Washington Hilton

When: Thursday night, 6:30 p.m. to 10ish

Who: Some 1,000 Washington journalists, PR flacks, and corporate executives. The evening's 120-odd tables ranged from WETA and the Washington Post to Edison Electric, Ford, Cisco, Vanderbilt University, and the New Yorker, who were on hand.

Scene: The exception to the spring press dinner dinner ritual, the NPF's focus is just on journalism; there's no awkward comedic routine or politician roasting himself. The black tie dinner began relatively on time and the awards presentation take up most of the evening, with some short videos and always a heart-wrenching moment or two. Last year's dinner honored the journalists of the Gulf Coast for persevering in the face of Hurricane Katrina and this year's honored reporters who have sacrificed in Iraq, including those like The Atlantic's Michael Kelly, who have been killed in the war, those like CBS's Kimberly Dozier who have been injured, and those like Fox's Steve Centanni, who was kidnapped and released and seated at table 78 with executives from Centurian Risk Assessment Services, who donated some $30,000 in security training to the NPF for journalists heading to war zones.

Food: A spinach salad with candied walnuts, chipotle BBQ salmon, and a delicious trio of cheesecakes.

Drink of Choice: White wine, specifically Quincy Haute Victoire Bourgeois 2005.

Moving Moment of the Evening: Receiving the chairman's citation for the night was Michael Weisskopf, of Time Magazine, who, while covering Baghdad in December 2003, had a grenade thrown into his Humvee—he promptly threw it out, saving the lives of himself, Time's photographer, and the four soldiers in the vehicle, but losing his right hand when it exploded. He spoke only briefly, but his line, "I beat the bastards who would have it otherwise," left the crowd silent.

Best Line of the Evening: The Wall Street Journal's unmarried Brody Mullins, who won the Dirksen Award for best congressional coverage, joked that his parents had long been looking forward to this moment where their son, dressed in a tux and surrounded by well-wishers would be at the front of the room, but that they had expected that the scene would be in a church and that the person standing next to him wouldn't be Ben Bradlee. Mullins turned to the legendary Post editor and deadpanned, "Ben, I do."

Later in his remarks, Mullins had some tough words for the print industry, saying that to ensure their future print publication owners should be plowing more of their profits into in-depth thoughtful reporting that wasn't just the "commoditized" facts like who, what, where, and when, but the why and the how of stories.

Worst Oversight of the Evening: Dirksen Award winner Steve Henn forgot to thank his wife during his remarks, so when his co-winner William Kistner thanked his, a look of pure terror crossed Henn's face and he jumped forward to volunteer thanks to his wife as well to much laughter from the audience.  

Evening's Awardees:

Worth Bingham Prize for Investigative Journalism: Lisa Chedekel and Matthew Kauffman of the Hartford Courant.

Excellence in Online Journalism Award: Bloomberg.com

Clifford K. & James T. Berryman Award for Editorial Cartoonist: Steve Sack, Minneapolis Star Tribune

Everett McKinley Dirksen Awards for Distinguished Reporting of Congress: Brody Mullins, the Wall Street Journal and Steve Henn & William Kistner, American Public Media

Chairman's Citation: Michael Weisskopf, Time Magazine

Sol Taishoff Award for Excellence in Broadcast Journalism: Gwen Ifill, PBS

W. M. Kiplinger Distinguished Contributions to Journalism Award: The late Art Buchwald

The Benjamin C. Bradlee Editor of the Year Award: David Remnick, The New Yorker

Gift Bag: A handy messenger bag/briefcase emblazoned with the CQ and NPF logos, containing assorted publications (including the January "100 Very Best Restaurants" issue of the Washingtonian), and some trinkets, the best of which was a C-SPAN campaign 2008 luggage tag.

Ratings:
Bold Face Guests: 3.5 (out of 5)
Swankiness: 4 (out of 5)
Food/Drinks: 3 (out of 5)
Overall Exclusivity: 4 (out of 5)

Total Score: 14.5 (out of 20)

More photos from the evening follow below.

The red carpet unfurls on the East Coast, too. Be it a bar, restaurant, or theater, Washington has a spot for you to enjoy the 79th Academy Awards ceremony.

Last night, White House Press Secretary Tony Snow finally had a chance to ask the questions.  A panel discussion with Snow and six members of the White House press corps gave the oft-attacked Snow an opportunity to turn the tables.

What: Reception and Panel Discussion with White House Press Secretary Tony Snow and Members of the White House Press Corps

Where: National Press Club

When: Private Reception, 7 p.m., Panel Discussion, 8 p.m.

Who: CBS's Bob Schieffer provided opening and closing remarks. Snow's targets were NBC's David Gregory, Sheryl Stolberg of The New York Times, Terry Hunt from the Associated Press, Mark Knoller of CBS Radio, Newsweek's Richard Wolffe, and April Ryan from American Urban Radio Networks.

A pre-event reception had an air of excitement.  Would Snow take this opportunity to pick on the people who pick on him every day? During Scheiffer's opening remarks, he referred to the panel as a "man bites dog story" and told Snow this is his chance to "get even."

Not surprisingly, Snow's first question went to David Gregory, who has earned a reputation as an outspoken showman in the Bush White House. Snow asked Gregory how often he wishes he could have a do-over at the end of the day. Gregory replied that he never wants his reporting to be personal and added that tempers tend to flare unintentionally in the heat of the moment. Gregory's diplomatic response set the tone for the evening—it would be a friendly, not contentious, discussion.

As Snow and the press corps loosened up, both sides began to joke with one another. When asked if he gets nervous during a press conference with the President, Wolffe said, "My heart starts to beat fast—and not in a romantic way." At one point, Snow's BlackBerry went off and he quipped, "The President says hi."

Snow's questions were mostly easy ones: What kind of reaction do you get from your kids from being on TV? "Not enough, frankly," joked Gregory. The best story you've ever done? Ryan and Knoller said they haven't written theirs yet. Stolberg recalled an interview with Dr. Jonas Salk just before his death.  How would you rate your job on a scale of 1-10? All panelists agreed that they have the best job in the world.

The only tension arose when Snow asked Hunt if he thinks television cameras should be on or off in the press room. Hunt said he wished they were off because "people play to the cameras," an obvious slight to Gregory. In response, Gregory argued that the cameras provide transparency and are a way for the public to see "democracy in action." Then he added, "I can't control what Tony does," which was met with a room full of laughter.

Without further ado, here are the top eight developments you need to know about what's happening on both sides of the presidential campaign:

1) This week saw two major presidential announcements: Barack Obama and Mitt Romney. The former you probably heard a lot about. The latter, not so much—and that's a problem for the former Massachusetts governor. More than 600 newspeople showed up for Obama’s announcement in Springfield, and yet only about a third that number attended Romney’s fete a few days later in Michigan. Expect more of the same—right now all the “sexiness” seems to be on the Democratic side. The more the focus remains on the Democratic primary, the better news it is for John McCain. He needs to remain the known quantity to Romney’s unknown. Romney can’t afford to be overshadowed too many days.

2) John Edwards’s disastrous “Bloggers vs. Catholics” story entered a second week and showed the “unscripted” campaign stumbling repeatedly to right itself. What had once been one of the campaign’s strengths—the wholesale adoption of the Web—has now knocked it off message day after day and failed to appease either the bloggers or the Catholics.

3) California is moving forward with plans to move its primary into February 2008, which would shorten the calendar even more and thus reduce the window within which anyone but a top-tier candidate could win. February 5 could become the equivalent of a Super Tuesday primary a whole month earlier than the typical first Tuesday in March if Illinois, California, Florida, Michigan, and others all end up on that day. Because nothing but expensive air wars and massive ground operations could hope to win those states, it would be nearly impossible for a candidate without a giant bankroll to go into that day competitive.

4) Mitt Romney continues to refuse to cede an inch of ground to John McCain, most of all in McCain’s hometown, Washington, DC. According to sources familiar with the discussions, Romney is making serious in-roads into the GOP House leadership and has a total of 23 congressmen lined up for a fundraiser later this month. One name on the host committee not to underestimate: Nels Olsen, the DC power behind Korn/Ferry International, the world’s largest executive search firm. In that role, Olsen has recruited many of the top trade-association executives in town and thus his phone calls get returned promptly by a lot of powerful people who literally owe their jobs to him. Lots of finance staffers would kill for his rolodex, and he knows relationships and networks inside and out.

The Ritz-Carlton in Georgetown had put together an unparalleled night of pampering and luxury for Valentine's Day: The once-in-a-lifetime centerpiece of the $175,000 package (which included a $75,000 donation to the Kennedy Center) was a private dinner for two on the stage of the Kennedy Center's Opera Hall, decorated with 1,200 (!) roses, and accompanied by a violinist and a "discreet" photographer. Also included were the hotel's presidential suite for the night, in-suite professional hair and makeup styling, a designer tuxedo, Neiman Marcus gown, coordinating accessories, and a Cartier diamond ring—as well as a limo ride to the Kennedy Center and back complete with a police escort. Back in the Presidential Suite after dinner, the two pampered guests would find a rose-petal turndown, a butler-drawn bath, monogrammed pillowcases and bathrobes, personalized chocolates, and an invitation to return to The Ritz-Carlton, Georgetown every Valentine’s Day for the next 25 years. Altogether, not a bad way to propose if one was inclined and also had the extra cash rolling around.

As Valentine's Day neared and the deluxe package went unsold, Ritz executives decided to offer a more reasonable version of the package to a wounded Iraq veteran. Thus tonight, Army Sergeant Dan Alderman, 24, of Hawaii, and his eight-month pregnant fiancée will be treated to a once-in-a-lifetime evening of their own. Alderman is a 4 1/2-year veteran of the service, and did a tour in Afghanistan from 2003 to 2005 before being deployed to Iraq. Three months into his Iraq tour, he was wounded by a roadside IED outside Kirkuk. He lost his left leg below the knee and is currently undergoing intense physical therapy as an outpatient at Walter Reed. 

Tonight Alderman and fiancée Samantha Keyser will be picked up by a limo at Walter Reed, whisked to a premiere suite at the Ritz, treated to a specially prepared gourmet dinner for two prepared by Fahrenheit Chef Terence Feury, a dozen roses, and rose-petal turndown service upon returning to their suite, as well as breakfast in bed Thursday morning.

The best part of the evening though? It's free—only $175,000 less than the original luxury package.

James Carville appeared at the old CNN Crossfire studio at George Washington University’s Jack Morton Auditorium. Photo courtesy of Aaron Miller.

"That's a silly-ass position," said Democratic strategist James Carville as he stood in front of the image of a donkey and lambasted Republican ideology. ”What do you call denial of global warming?  That’s a silly-ass position.”  Dressed in a modest black t-shirt, blue jeans, and gray and red sneakers, Carville, also known as the “Ragin’ Cajun," used the old CNN Crossfire studio at George Washington University’s Jack Morton Auditorium, as a bully pulpit.

A senior strategist behind Bill Clinton's 1992 campaign, Carville took the stage at the George Washington College Democrats’ behest (they started asking in June, and a GW student works for Carville as an intern). A lead pundit in the now-defunct cable show, thanks in part to Jon Stewart's roasting of the show as “bad for America,” Carville still embraces what he describes as “healthy debate.”  

“Maybe there are two sides of global warming I should recognize,” he joked in an effort at bipartisanship. “Maybe I should say the earth is 5,000 years old.”

But, of course, he didn’t. 

After doing his best to discredit Republicans, Carville switched from attacking to embracing and described a program he dubbed “Progressive Patriotism.”

“The more you got, the more patriotic you can be,” said Carville. In his utopia, the wealthy would give up a slice of their tax cuts, and every single man, woman, and child in America would donate their time to political pursuits. “Most young people I know wouldn’t mind it,” he said to student applause. “Do not succumb to cynicism,” he warned. “You can do something, and don’t ever forget that.”

And, of course, students wanted to know what he would do if he were contributing in the ‘08 presidential election.  When asked which ‘08 candidate he would be most willing to manage or consult, Carville initially abstained.

“I’m 62, so I’ve had my shot." Pause. "Bill Clinton."

Later, when asked about Iraq, Carville speculated that Hillary Clinton’s Iraq strategy would leave behind a “minimum of damage.” But Carville held no great hope for the region. “Three people have a good plan for Iraq. They are the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost.”

Nor is Carville optimistic for a revival of New Orleans under the Bush administration. “The White House has forgotten about it,” he said as he wished Iraq spending could be preserved for reconstruction efforts.  “You could build a levee for $8.1 billion dollars, and it would never break."   

As became clear, Carville dislikes half measures—especially in politics. Continuing a rant of many months, he roasted Howard Dean’s 2006 election strategy, not because it diverted money to long-shot races—some of which Democrats ended up winning—but because it ended with money in the bank.  “Dean ended up on election day with $6 million in credit and $4 million in the bank. That’s idiotic. You spend it all,” he said. “Borrow money, end up in debt, and get the furniture out there,” he said, adding, “If I had money left at the end of it, I would be insulted.”

But nobody in the auditorium insulted Carville; instead students gave him a standing ovation and crowded up stairs for a reception.  Carville shook hands and smiled for pictures until the student throng subsided. As one student said, “I disagree with 95% of what he says, but I like the way he says it."