Politico’s Anne Schroeder Mullins and Patrick Gavin with Robert Gibbs.

Did you happen to notice that White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs was just a few minutes late to take his seat on the dais?

Maybe that’s because he couldn’t get away from a slew of reporters at CBS’ pre-party at the Convention Center.

After dinner… The place to be was “the place for politics” MSNBC’s after-party across the street from the Convention Center at the Historical Society. Those on the guest list- and there were plenty of crashers- received Tiffany-like key chains to get in.

As promised, there was a Starbucks bar, as well as a Cold Stone ice cream station, candy bar and plenty of desserts and mixed drinks. MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow worked the upstairs bar- where we saw everyone from David Axelrod to Ana Marie Cox to John Hodgman order her speciality, the Hearst.

By the time the Chris Matthews and Andrea Mitchells cleared out, the party had moved to the back patio to the backdrop of Journey’s “Don’t Stop Believin’” and the most hardcore guests didn’t leave until after 3am.

More photos after the jump. Also check out Maddow’s bartending skills…

More action from TWT‘s Liz Glover: