Washington, D.C., April 30 – See where American Idol can get you, even if you’re cast off the show? We trekked down to the capital for the annual White House Correspondents’ Dinner, and found Constantine Maroulis looking a bit lost, while fellow Idol alum Nadia Turner suavely penetrated Washington’s inner circles, schmoozing with evangelist Pat Robertson and Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld.

First Lady Laura Bush’s hilarious speech wowed the ill-matched crowd that included Richard Gere, Goldie Hawn, Cedric the Entertainer, Dennis Hopper and fashion designer Roberto Cavalli. Uber-liberal Al Franken was booed. It took a while for VP Dick Cheney and his security detail to clear out of the Hilton, and Jane Fonda seemed uneasy stuck waiting in the lobby with the hoi polloi.

Serena and Venus Williams changed into fresh outfits before joining guests at Bloomberg’s after-dinner party, at a nearby mansion.