Bo Derek and her date — John Corbett, of Northern Exposure and Sex and the City fame — had gotten up from their table at Saturday night’s White House correspondents dinner at the Hilton Washington when they set eyes on one suddenly popular young man in a crowd studded with movie stars, comedians and political leaders. The young man in question was Lance Vandaniker. He’s 23 years old, hails from Sevierville, Tenn., and he’d never been in a room filled with famous people before. Vandaniker — shot in Iraq while serving with the 101st Airborne, three weeks ago — also happened to have his left arm encased in a complicated splintlike contraption. And so Derek cooed over his injury and Vandaniker told Corbett he recognised him from TV, and other strangers kept coming over, pausing to say ‘‘God bless you,’’ or ‘‘Thank you for your service’’ to the young man from Tennessee. It was a different kind of night at the annual White House Correspondents’ Association dinner, where the president, the media establishment and an ever-growing population of celebrity guests were gathered. This year, there were no witty quips from the president. No razor-sharp comedian to entertain. No laugh-a-minute film clips. No pilgrimages to Ozzy Osbourne’s table. The number of celebrities in attendance, while numerous, seemed to be almost matched by the number of men in gold braid and pressed uniforms, and chestfuls of medals could be seen at table after table in the huge dining room. There were generals galore — among those spotted were Richard Myers and Wesley Clark. And then there were soldiers, like Vandaniker, who has been recuperating at Walter Reed Army Medical Center. ‘‘A lot of people have been coming up to me,’’ he said after watching another famous face, comedian Drew Carey, approach an officer a few feet away. ‘‘I think it has to be a lot more low-key this year,’’ said Carey, who was the headliner at last year’s dinner. And it was. This year, there was much pre-party whispering about whether or not a network might be so bold as to invite filmmaker Michael Moore, whose antiwar Oscar acceptance speech criticised Bush. Moore was not in attendance. And there were no sightings of other famous Hollywood antiwar activists, such as Susan Sarandon or Janeane Garofalo. And the main protest that took place outside the hotel as guests arrived was about.tax cuts. The evening started, as always, with the introduction of the president and first lady and the playing of the national anthem. Afterward, though, Bob Deans, the president of the Correspondents’ Association, took a few minutes out of the scheduled program to remember two journalists who died during the war in Iraq: David Bloom of NBC and Michael Kelly, who wrote for the op-ed page of The Washington Post. ‘‘David and Michael, you served us well,’’ Deans said. ‘‘You brought honour to our craft and you made us all very proud.’’ The pre-dinner party held by Bloomberg News drew most of the celebrity faces, while in the room hosted by Newsweek, there was a glut of high-level political, military and diplomatic types, including Madeleine Albright, presidential hopeful John Kerry and Bush insider Richard Perle, as well as Kissinger, Powell and Blix. Later Bush took the podium on Saturday night in a somber mood and delivered a speech devoted to eulogising Kelly and Bloom. Calling Kelly ‘‘one of the most accomplished columnists and editors in America,’’ Bush acknowledged Kelly’s father, Tom Kelly, in the audience. He also spoke movingly of Bloom, citing his words from his final e-mail to his wife. ‘‘Both men,’’ he said, ‘‘brought great credit to a hardworking profession.’’ And, in a decision that appeared reflective of the war in Iraq, the entertainment — usually comic; Jay Leno emceed a few years ago — was singer Ray Charles, who performed a relatively low-key program that included Route 66 and his signature tune, Georgia on My Mind. (LAT-WP)
