Correspondents’ Dinner lures even anti-Beltway Gov. Perry

By: Tom Benning/The Dallas Morning News

Gov. Rick Perry’s disdain for the nation’s capital apparently wasn’t enough to keep him away from Saturday night’s ultimate inside-the-Beltway event: the White House Correspondents’ Dinner.

“It’s a good place to be,” Perry said, referring to the dinner.

The blockbuster gala featured scores of celebrities and politicos, so Perry’s invitation from the Washington Times, a conservative newspaper, was hardly a surprise. But the appearance was a bit jarring for an ardently anti-Washington governor trying to tamp down speculation that he might run for president in 2012.

“For someone who hates Washington so much, Rick Perry has a funny way of showing it,” said Emily DeRose, spokeswoman for the Democratic Governors Association.

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