• Reliable Source: So many people want to drink with Jenna, Barbara, and Paris Hilton -- who won't be there anyway -- Smith Point fundraiser may be cancelled. . . Affleck: "One of the things about politics that's off-putting to me -- besides all the glad-handing and self-promotion -- is the fact that it becomes so petty, vicious and small-minded. I mean, what a nightmare. . . Candidacy itself, to be honest with you, just seems too vicious." [WP]

• Inside the Beltway: AU students launch petition drive against Marion Barry. . . Respondents in Esquire poll most attracted to Laura, Jenna. [WT]

• Lloyd Grove's Lowdown: Bush declines BET invite. . . Bening thinks Beatty would be strong presidential candidate, says Laura "happens to be perfect casting, but that's not her fault." [NYDN]

• The Scoop: Dixie Chicks call Sinclair "terrible for our democracy." [MSNBC]