Did you hear the one about the former US senator who made his New York stand-up comedy debut at age 82?
Arlen Specter — who spent five terms in Washington honing his delivery — appeared last night at Caroline’s comedy club in Midtown for a “New Talent” show.
“As you may have heard, I’ve spent 30 years in the Senate . . . practicing comedy,” the former senator from Pennsylvania joked to the crowd of about 80.
Specter has been dispensing politically tinged humor at comedy clubs since 2007, when he finished second in a stand-up contest to find the “Funniest Celebrity in Washington.”
But until last night, Specter’s biggest gigs had been limited to Pennsylvania and Washington, DC.
The one-time presidential candidate — who switched in 2009 from Republican to Democrat — took shots at both sides of the aisle last night.
“I gave Bill Clinton a call on his 65th birthday and asked him, ‘How do you feel?’ ” Specter said.
“He said, ‘Arlen, I feel like a teenager. The problem is I can’t find one.’ ”
And about Newt Gingrich, he quipped: “I’ve known Newt so long, I knew him when he was skinny. In fact, I’ve known him so long, I knew his first wife.”