Santorum and Lohan At White House Correspondent’s Dinner

Hmm, I thought the White House Correspondent’s Dinner (having morphed into “WHCD weekend” in recent years) was going to be disbanded in the name of imposing more professional boundaries in D.C. I can’t even remember where I heard that now. In any case, if I had to boil the power bacchanal (and the tidal wave of pics) down to one photograph, it’s this one.

I know the picture only represents two of the four pillars under the chandelier — the Washington and Hollywood political and cultural celebrities, and not the New York political and cultural celebrities and  journalist cultural celebrities — but it captures the essence so perfectly. Of course, if Rick Santorum only meant half the things he pontificated on the campaign trail and wasn’t just playing the game, he wouldn’t be caught dead within a hundred feet of Lindsay Lohan. Instead, though (hey, how do you like my vest?), it’s one big party.

UPDATE (4/30): I know it’s TMZ, but did Rick really ask to take her picture?

(photo/linked photo: Haraz N. Ghanbari/AP caption: Former Sen. Rick Santorum and Lindsay Lohan, right, attend the White House Correspondents’ Association Dinner headlined by late-night comic Jimmy Kimmel, Saturday, April 28, 2012 in Washington. linked caption: Former Sen. Rick Santorum, R-Pa., talks with Lindsay Lohan at the the White House Correspondents’ Association Dinner, Saturday, April 28, 2012 in Washington.)