The gathering included the UN Security Council's five permanent members plus Iraq, Kuwait, Qatar and Turkey but not Iran or Saudi Arabia, deemed so antagonistic as to cancel each other out.
Many of the young Republicans at the gathering, including Jake Evans, the chapter's thirty-one-year-old president, supported Marco Rubio in the Republican Presidential primary.
The gathering included Colbert's most frequent guest Andrew Sullivan, Jon Stewart (duh), Michael Stipe, Arianna Huffington, Gloria Steinem, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Tom Brokaw, James Franco, Katie Couric, and Big Bird and a host of other muppets (including Cyndi Lauper and Barry Manilow).
The guest list at the gathering included Mary Robinson, the former Irish president; Paulo Coelho, a Brazilian writer; Wole Soyinka, the Nigerian author and Nobel laureate; and Javier Solana, the European Union's foreign policy chief.
Top officials from the Paul and Romney campaigns were on hand to observe the gathering, including Mr. Romney's campaign counsel, Benjamin L. Ginsberg, Mr. Paul's Nevada chairman, Carl Bunce, and Mr. Paul's deputy national campaign manager, Dimitri Kesari.
So there was a CBS contingent at the gathering, including ANDREW HEYWARD, the president of CBS News; DON HEWITT, the executive producer of "60 Minutes"; MIKE WALLACE and LESLEY STAHL, correspondents for the program.
Showcasing the charity's projects – which bolster democracy from Stoke-on-Trent to South Sudan and from Tanzania to Tunisia through the power of press freedom – the gathering included an auction of "money-can't-buy" gifts donated by distinguished supporters, with all proceeds going directly to the initiatives.
Top officials from the campaigns of Mr. Paul and Mitt Romney were on hand to observe the gathering, including Mr. Romney's campaign counsel, Benjamin L. Ginsberg; Mr. Paul's Nevada chairman, Carl Bunce; and Mr. Paul's deputy national campaign manager, Dimitri Kesari.
Thousands participated in the gathering including Isa Qassim, Bahrain Shias' top religious figure.
The gathering included several other lawmakers, including Congressman Fred Upton (R-MI), who praised Cooper, the other honoree at the event.
