Mike Huckabee: Stand-Up Guy

"It was nice to win something this year," the former Arkansas Governor told me, as he left the stage of the D.C. Improv last night after being named Funniest Celebrity in Washington. "My ego needed this."

Yes, I know, Funniest Celebrity in Washington sounds more like an oxymoron than a contest. I was a judge again this year in the annual stand-up comedy competition, and though our own Ana wasn't competing this time around, Huckabee was up against some formidable opponents, at least by the standards of The Village--anti-tax crusader Grover Norquist (who got third place), Westwood One Radio's Jim Bohannon, Libbertarian presidential nominee Bob Barr, CNN's Jamie McIntyre, Politico's James Kotecki (a last-minute entry who rapped his way to second place) and al-Jazeera's Riz Khan (full disclosure: Khan, who came in third, was my own top pick). California Congressman Brad Sherman was a no-show.

This year, there were no themes that dominated quite the way Larry Craig's bathroom adventures did a year ago, though there were a few limp shots at Sarah Palin. (Barr: "Anybody know what the difference between a bulldog and a hockey mom is? The bulldog gets vetted." Huckabee on McCain: "I'm hurt he didn't even vet me. That's okay. He didn't vet Sarah Palin.") Khan won me over with his funny riff on how un-random those airport searches are when you are going through airports as a brown Muslim man.

UPDATE: Commenter Slowhand Ted found the video:

UPDATE2: A spokesman for Congressman Brad Sherman called me to inform me: "He was a no-show, because he never agreed to do it."