Bredesen to attend his first White House correspondents dinner

NASHVILLE (AP) — Gov. Phil Bredesen will attend the annual White House Correspondents Association dinner Saturday in Washington as the guest of The New Republic, the magazine that billed him as a “star” in a January cover story.

Guests must be invited by a journalist attending the exclusive dinner. The several thousand who attend the dinner are entertained by comedians, actors and politicians — including the president.

Bredesen’s spokeswoman, Lydia Lenker, said the governor’s attendance at the dinner would be strictly social.

“He has no presidential aspirations,” she said Thursday. “It’s strictly a social invitation to be the honored guest of The New Republic.”

The New Republic, a weekly magazine of politics and opinion, traditionally supports moderate positions associated with the Democratic Leadership Council and former President Clinton. The magazine has said that Bredesen ranks just behind John Edwards, Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton and the rest of a short list of potential 2008 Democratic presidential nominees.

The correspondents’ dinner wraps up a weekend of social appearances for the governor, including stops at the annual Coon Supper on Thursday in Covington, hosted by Tennessee Speaker of the House Jimmy Naifeh, and the World’s Biggest Fish Fry in Paris on Friday.