The 64th annual Congressional Dinner of the Washington Press Foundation was held at the Ritz Carlton Hotel. After the award presentations congressional leaders joked about the current state of politics. Representative Rahm Emanuel showed a commercial for his facetious campaign for the Democratic vice presidential nomination. The David Lynch award to honor excellence in regional reporters who cover Congress was given to Lisa Mascaro of the Las Vegas Sun for reporting in 2007 on the Nevada congressional delegation. A video was shown in tribute to journalist Tad Bartimus as she was presented with the Lifetime Achievement Award. Ms. Bartimus was a Vietnam war correspondent and the first female bureau chief at the Associated Press. She also founded the Journalism and Women Symposium (JAWS). In honor of the passing of two of the founders of the organization, the Mary Lou Beatty prize for editorial excellence was announced and a CNN tribute video to Fran Lewine was shown.