Beltway celebrities to mark Nixon's 100th birthday

An eclectic group of politicians, celebrities and pundits is poised to gather Wednesday to mark the 100th anniversary of former President Richard Nixon's birth.

Former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger, conservative TV commentator and former White House hopeful Pat Buchanan and actor and game show host Ben Stein will join the 37th president’s daughters, Julie Nixon Eisenhower and Tricia Nixon Cox, at a gala at The Mayflower Hotel in downtown Washington.

Names on the VIP guest list all have connections to Nixon, who died in 1994 at age 81. Buchanan served as Nixon’s senior adviser, and Stein, former host of the cult hit “Win Ben Stein’s Money,” worked as Nixon’s speechwriter.

An invite to the centennial birthday festivities, held 100 years to the day after the former commander in chief was born, says the 400-person strong event will be the largest gathering of Nixon’s family, friends and White House alumni in 20 years.