Photos, as always, by Liz Gorman.

We figured it out: if one open bar = good Washington party, an endless succession of open bars over the course of the entire night = the best Washington party. The rest of it’s just window dressing. Trust us.

Having clipped on our bow tie and slipped into our scuffed patent leather shoes, we went down to the Hilton a little after 6. The red carpet was out, with camera crews set up on one side and a couple dozen disposable camera-wielding gawkers behind a vinyl barrier. If they had bothered to rent a tux, they could’ve just sidestepped the divider and sauntered on into the receptions, as no one bothers to check names until the dinner actually starts. Once we got past the bank of photogs, we were confronted by the black-clad Reuters models for the first of what would be many times — eager to generate a little last-minute buzz, they’d decked out a couple models in black Reuters t-shirts and armed them with drink menus (as seen here last week). That might’ve been a bit too tacky for the crowd, as we can’t remember if anyone we know actually went to the Reuters “mixology lab” or whatever the hell it was called. The full reception report, after the jump.

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* Reliable Source: Michelle Kwan, Henry Kissinger, Tim Russert, Ron Silver, Dick Cheney, Condoleezza Rice, Barbara Bush, and Donald Rumsfeld attended “very fancy luncheon” for Hu Jintao; the menu included “corn broth with dumpling, halibut and melon.” [WP]
* Inside the Beltway: Pat Buchanan predicts divisions among conservatives are hitting a fever pitch. [WT]
* Rush & Molloy: Democratic strategist David Sirota blames Clinton for job loss overseas. [NYDN]
* Page Six: Ron Burkle is hosting a fundraiser for Sen. Clinton tonight in Beverly Hills. [NYP]
* Cindy Adams: Dan Rather says he was audited four times during the Nixon presidency. [NYP]

* Reliable Source: Art Buchwald phones in from a hospice in Washington: “It’s like the Ritz-Carlton in Florida.”. . . Wax figure of Hillary is unveiled in New York. [WP]
* Rush & Molloy: George Clooney: “I love how they’re trying to blame the other guy for getting shot. Unless the guy is 20 feet tall, Cheney wasn’t aiming in the right direction.” [NYDN]
* Lloyd Grove’s Lowdown: Mary Matalin tells “Today” show viewers that the Pentagon was forthcoming about Abu Ghraib. [NYDN]
* Page Six: George Soros incites counter-attack commercials in Texas after funding ads against Rep. Tom DeLay. . . In light of Cheney’s hunting accident, Republicans dredge up Chappaquiddick. [NYP]
* Cindy Adams: Republicans mumbling about a McCain-Rice ticket. Says Henry Kissinger, “But John, Condoleeza is only just a staff person.” [NYP]

• Reliable Source: Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie are not moving to D.C. [WP]
• Page Six: Al Franken receives a lecture after trying to question Antonin Scalia. . . Teresa Heinz Kerry said to have monopolized the bag department at Hermes. [NYP, NYP]
• Lloyd Grove’s Lowdown: Antonin Scalia lashes out at the press at “off the record” panel discussion. [NYDN]
• Rush & Molloy: Bush at the turkey pardoning: “I know Marshmallow and Yam are going to feel pretty good strutting around sunny California, remembering the cold days of Minnesota.” [NYDN]
• Liz Smith: Barbara Walters is fascinated by Condoleezza Rice. [NYP]
• Inside the Beltway: Stories of Sen. George Allen, Sen. Jon Corzine, Sen. Bill Frist, Rumsfeld, Kissinger, and Bill O’Reilly appear in E.D. Hill’s new book. [WT]

• Reliable Source: People magazine puts Patrick Fitzgerald under “Smart Guys” in their “Sexiest Man” issue. . . Ted Koppel can do strong impressions of Henry Kissinger and Barbara Walters. [WP]
• Under the Dome: Dean Barkley, who was tapped to serve out Paul Wellstone’s term, now manages Kinky Friedman’s campaign for governor of Texas. . . Eight people show up for Rep. David Hobson’s (R-Ohio) pheasant-hunting fundraiser. . . The Kennedys, Kerry, Hillary, and Scarborough honor Robert F. Kennedy on his 80th birthday. . . Spokesmen for DeLay and Hillary are awarded “Flak Jacket” honors. [The Hill]
• Lloyd Grove’s Lowdown: Rove’s attorney may have purchased an “I Love Karl Rove” shirt. [NYDN]

Wonk’d documents sightings of famous-for-DC types most anywhere and famous-famous people in Washington. Send yours to: . It’s a little light this month because of a total system failure at Wonkette HQ (meet the new hard drive, same as the old hard drive!) resulting in the loss of, well, everything, but including the last few weeks’ of sightings. Anyhow, in this issue: Wolf, Lockhart, Ashcroft, Kucinich, James Rehnquist, Kissinger, Stephanopoulos, Ethan Hawke and Alexis Bledel. Also: Glover Park Whole Foods apparently the D.C. Spago’s.

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