Nyhan said he thinks the dinner will be a lighthearted opening to a weekend filled with intense political debate.
"It's like a post-Cold War conference, the Warsaw Pact versus the NATO Pact," he said. "At least the opening dinner will be an evening of convivality."
An open forum with the campaign managers will be held on Friday afternoon at the IOP and panel participants will also be available to meet with the public Friday morning over breakfast from 8-9am.
The conference is usually held in December, but because of election 2000's length, this year's conference had to be pushed back.
IOP Director David Pryor, a former Arkansas senator, said he is not worried that time has made the participants any more mellow about the election.
"When these people get togheter they will jog each other's memories satisfactorily," he said. "This weekend we're going to talk about everything."