Historian Dan Snow said they had wanted to choose a "run-of-the-mill day".

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Historian Dan Snow, journalist and broadcaster George Alagiah and BBC weather presenter Heather Reid were among the guests on Saturday, the last day of the festival.

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Cerberus already counts several ex-government officials in its ranks: John Snow, a former treasury secretary, is chairman, and Dan Quayle, a former vice-president, heads its international arm.

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Rove, along with chief of staff Josh Bolten and counselor Dan Bartlett, were working on their BlackBerrys and phones throughout the night and the first lady occasionally popped in, Snow said.

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