Have You Heard the One About the Guy Who Runs for President?

March 30, 2007 — -- Running for president can be serious business; it can also be seriously funny.

Facing crowds with pressing questions and a press distracted by a crowded field, several presidential contenders have stock jokes at the ready -- they're a good way to loosen up potential supporters and distract from uncomfortable topics.

Democratic Gov. Bill Richardson of New Mexico touts his resume as a former congressman, ambassador, Clinton Cabinet member, then often jokes as he did to a recent gathering of the International Association of Fire Fighters, "There are a lot of Democrats running for president. I want to tell you that I think all of them could serve enormously well in the White House" -- beat for emphasis -- "as my vice president."

Richardson, perhaps the most candid and comedic among the Democratic crop, also jokes, "As President Clinton used to say, 'Bad guys like Richardson,' so we'll send him," referring to past negotiations with communist countries such as Iraq, North Korea and Cuba.

"Humor shows intellectual honesty," said Mark Katz, the founder of the Soundbite Institute and a former writer for President Clinton's humor-laced annual speeches to the Washington press corps.

"The power of jokes is that they speak the subtext of things that go unsaid and acknowledge things that go unsaid -- things that get left out of the conversation."

Republican and former New York mayor Rudy Giuliani, currently leading most national polls, frequently deflects conservative doubts about his moderately social views with a wink and smile, rather than a protracted debate.

Speaking to the annual Conservative Political Action Conference in March, "America's Mayor" joked, "We don't all agree on everything. I don't agree with myself on everything," deftly addressing conservatives' concerns without getting bogged down in the details.

According to Katz, a candidate's ability to use humor in a speech "shows they are not afraid of their own thoughts."

Sen. Chris Dodd, D-Conn., the 62-year-old first-time father and presidential candidate, certainly isn't afraid of sharing his thoughts on Iraq, taxes or lighter topics such as dirty-diaper duty.