For Washington's elite, this could be the one tell-tale sign that the struggling economy has hit home. Bloomberg News and Vanity Fair are ditching their separate parties following the White House Correspondents' Association dinner on May 9 and will join forces to hold one bash at the residence of French Ambassador Pierre Vimont.

Bloomberg sources say that the water cooler chat has each publication being granted 150 invites, for a total of 300. This, of course, not only makes it one of the more exclusive events but also makes it impossible for employees of Bloomberg's large D.C. bureau to all be granted tickets.

For Bloomberg, this merger means a smaller party than its traditional bashes, which for the past two years have filled the Costa Rican Embassy. For Vanity Fair, this means a larger party than the intimate gathering it has thrown in the Kalorama home of Christopher Hitchens….

The merger also presents Capitol File magazine with a rare opportunity to best the big boys in the weekend's afterparty scene. Although the D.C. glossy's White House Correspondents' Dinner afterparties have consistently been impressive and star-studded, they have also struggled to emerge from out of the large, buzzed-about shadows cast by media industry bigwigs Vanity Fair and Bloomberg.

But this year, Capitol File's party at the Corcoran will be twice the size of the Vanity Fair/Bloomberg merger, meaning that the crowd could be livelier and more boisterous, and the often frustrating battle for tickets will be ever-so-slightly less difficult. And Jason Binn, whose Niche Media owns Capitol File, has always had a knack for reeling in top celebrities.

Not political but...Capitol File had a screening last night for Kevin Bacon's new HBO military flick, "Taking Chance" at the MPAA. Bacon is the magazine's cover star this season.

Seen there: Debbie Dingell, Eleanor Clift, Margaret Carlson, Marissa Mitrovich, Susanna Quinn, Bacon's sister and lots of military men from the Pentagon and of course MPAA Chair Dan Glickman.

And just what you'd think the topic would be at a Kevin Bacon event was - "Footloose!" His sister was overheard talking about it with a guest - the two were laughing that he makes Sundance movies and yet, still, all anyone wants to talk about it Ren McCormack. He can never escape.