After being so generously snuck into the Reagan banquet by some people, I turned up the shmooze to levels unheard of - even by the resume-padding, bowtie-wearing Young Conservatives that stalked the earlier career fair.

Once I heard that Tom "The Hammer" DeLay, the disgraced personification of conservative lobbying scandals and perhaps all that is wrong with K Street era DC, was in the room, there was no stopping me. Deftly slipping past some ungracefully-aged and over-botoxed senior Conservative women, through a horde of eager acolytes that actually respected this man, I stepped up and shoved my right hand out.

"Mr. DeLay," (I wasn't going to call him a Congressman) "my name is Niral Shah, from Dartmouth College."

"A real live conservative from Dartmouth College, eh? I didn't know there were any," Mr. DeLay said as he excitedly pumped my hand.

"Well sir, there's not a lot, but there's a few," I said, trying not to wrongly identify myself as one of those seersucker-wearing bastards.

 We chatted for a while, but unfortunately, I had left my camera behind. But then, hours later, as we were leaving the Omni Hotel, we saw Mr. DeLay once again. The crowd this time was smaller, but still, it took some skill to get in there.

"Mr. DeLay, could I get a quick picture with you?"

A 40-something, and reasonably fit woman interjects, explaining that she's a blogger, and defended (the now indicted) DeLay "against all those looney accusations from the left," stepping close to him, pawing at him even, lamenting that "nobody even talks about the ranch." (Actually, people do. His ranch-based charity for children is also under investigation.)

I had to wait a little longer ("always gotta make time for a pretty lady," the ex-Congressman told me)