Politicians, movie stars, media handmaidens, and a few subversives who can’t stand any of them (the boss went a few years ago): It’s the most obnoxious Beltway event of the year, and C-SPAN, bless its heart, will be covering all of it. Watch here starting at 6 p.m. ET to see the Illuminati make their red-carpet entrances — behold the guest list — or tune in at 8 as the actual dinner begins. The One will be speaking, of course, as will Wanda Sykes in the Colbert role. I trust she’s got some killer material lined up about how awesome Obama is.

How obnoxious is the self-importance on display here? Dude:

At Tammy Haddad’s brunch, Ann Curry yelled at the crowd: “You are the most powerful people in the world!” let’s hope not.

Journalists have dubbed this “nerdprom” in a naked attempt to lend an ironic dimension to the fact that they’re eager to hobnob with the same pols they’re supposed to be watchdogging. One redeeming virtue: Meghan McCain will be there and is promising to live-Tweet the whole thing, which should be as entertaining as it is surreal. You can follow her updates here; for gossip with a more professional flavor, Politico’s page is probably the best bet. Let the self-congratulation begin!

Update: Mary Katharine Ham’s there too and it looks like she’ll also be Tweeting up a storm.