Amy Klobuchar, comedienne, lands National Press Club gig

Some politicians say serious things that end up sounding funny. Think, for example, of Rep. Michelle Bachmann, who once worked a crowd of fellow teabaggers to a froth by mistakenly invoking one of the worst blunders in military history, the Charge of the Light Brigade.

Some politicians used to be funny in their previous lives. Think of Sen. Al Franken impersonating Mick Jagger singing Under My Thumb, for example.

Other politicians say stuff that's actually meant to be funny. And that is evidently why Sen. Amy Klobuchar has been tapped to give one of two keynote speeches at the National Press Club's annual gala in Washington D.C. on Jan. 30.

From the Star Tribune:

Klobuchar's reputation for biting wit took off last winter at the Washington Press Club Foundation's dinner.

"I raised $17,000 from ex-boyfriends -- true story!" was one of her setup lines. "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, the openly gay House member from Massachusetts.

Like Klobuchar, the National Press Club's new president is also a Minnesotan. Alan Bjerga, 36, of Bloomberg News, began his career with the St. Paul Pioneer Press and later worked at the Sioux Falls Argus Leader.