Her Washington Press Club laff-riot suggests Klobuchar has 12 ex-boyfriend donors

Sen. Amy Klobuchar Photo: Nancy B. Olsen

Her staff made expectation-lowering sounds of dread about U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar writing her own material for a standup routine at the Washington Press Club Foundation dinner last night. But no worries: She was “bring-down-the-house funny,” Politico reports, earning the annual event’s first-ever standing ovation. After the jump, a selection of Klobuchar’s jokes, including one that suggests she counts a dozen ex-boyfriends among her campaign contributors.

Excerpts with links to full transcript and video after the jump. 

Here’s Politico’s accounting of Klobuchar’s laugh lines, half of which she says she wrote herself:

“I’d like to make this as short as Bill Richardson’s tenure as Commerce Secretary,” she opened. “I raised $17,000 from ex-boyfriends — true story! I know that is the record in the Senate, but in the House it’s held by Barney Frank.” Roars of laughter, even from Frank.

Then she turned to the “great reporters? in this room — all of whom got scooped on the John Edwards story by the National Enquirer.” She promised not to be too rough with them, though, since “I’m all about protecting endangered species.”

Perhaps best of all: “Typically a Republican and a Democrat speak at this — you could have saved a lot of money by asking Joe Lieberman.”  [...]

She may have even been too funny. One line — that her position as a member of the subcommittee on oceans from Minnesota was as incongruous as an ethics committee member from Illinois — led an audience wag to crack that, “she may be on the committee on oceans for a long time.”

Political Animal offers a full transcript of Klobuchar’s remarks. Here’s video of last night’s actual program, with Klobuchar’s bit starting about 36 minutes in (h/t Polinaut). And Minnesota Public Radio has audio of Klobuchar previewing her material. 

It shouldn’t have been such a surprise — Klobuchar’s shown a quick wit and ready laugh both as a candidate and senator. And after all, writing to entertain is in her blood: Her father, Jim Klobuchar, was a longtime Minneapolis newspaper columnist known for his folksy good humor.

Now about that opening joke: Federal Election Commission records reveal that one known ex-boyfriend of Sen. Klobuchar’s did indeed donate to her 2006 campaign in the amount of $1,500. Simple extrapolation from that data point suggests that she maintains a he-harem of former beaus with open wallets that’s about a dozen strong.

Klobuchar added this aside, according to the full transcript:

As my husband, who is back there somewhere (where are you?), points out, for me, ex-boyfriends aren’t an expanding base.

(Hat tip to MNPublius)