Ben Affleck, Colin Powell: CBS' ticket

by Mark Silva

The line between network news and the celebrity world in Washington - if there ever was such a line - is looking a little blurry here:

The annual White House Correspondents Association dinner, a black-tie affair that draws a few thousand people each year and opens with a red-carpet celeb-walk much like one of those Hollywood award nights, arrives May 9. It will be President Barack Obama's first, which adds an additional panache for ticket-buyers courting the best guests, who, of course, become feathers in the hosts' caps.

So what is CBS News - that legedary enterprise that we remember for Edward R. Murrow and the Harvest of Shame -- doing about this?

Promoting its guest list:

Ben Affleck leads the list of guests of CBS News and its Washington bureau chief, Christopher Isham, preparing for the dinner at the Washington Hilton.

They'll bring Jennifer Garner, Washington Mayor Adrian Fenty and wife Michelle, as well as former Secretary of State Colin Powell

And the president's stint at the podium is sure to find some applause among CBS News' guests from the Obama administration: Secretary of Education Arne Duncan, Environmental Protection Administrator Lisa Jackson, Treasury Department Communications Director Stephanie Cutter White House Advisors Tom Donilon and David Jacobson, the first lady's press secretary, Katie McCormick, the president's personal secretary, Katie Johnson, and Under Secretary of Defense for Policy Michele Flournoy.

Did we mention Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) and New Jersey Gov. Jon Corzine, Democrat? Hollywood Producer Joe Pichirallo,and Argentine Ambassador Hector Timerman?

Face the Nation's Bob Schieffer, a professional newsman and amateur country musician in his own right, also has some guests, country music's Brad Paisley and wife, actress Kimberly Williams. They met at the Grand Ole Opry in Nashville, where they both performed, CBS News' promotional arm explains.

Craig Ferguson entertained the guests last year. This year, Wanda Sykes will.

"The first thing I did when they asked me to do this gig --I made sure my taxes were paid," sys Sykes, in the WHCA reportage of the coming event.

It's a benefit, this dinner, raising money for scholarships - so those pricey tickets will support a worthy cause. And watch for those guests on the CBS Evening News, Early Show and Face the Nation.