Think Maureen Dowd is the closest the New York Times gets to funny?

Not to fear — she’s not the standard. Daniel Kurtzman is.  The editor the Political Humor page of About.com brings real funny to the Times with this hilariously zany piece: “The Year’s Most Laughable Political Antics.”  Click here to read.  Our favorites from Daniel’s list:

• Best Debate Sound Bite From a Republican: “In case you missed it, a few days ago Senator Clinton tried to spend $1 million on the Woodstock concert museum. Now, ladies and gentlemen, I wasn’t there. I’m sure it was a cultural and pharmaceutical event. I was tied up at the time.” —John McCain, referring to the years he spent as a P.O.W.
• Least Surprising Revelation: Dennis Kucinich’s admission that he once communed with a UFO, confirming an account in Shirley MacLaine’s book that said he “felt a connection in his heart and heard directions in his mind” as an otherworldly, triangular craft hovered above him. As David Letterman joked, “Dennis Kucinich doesn’t seem like the type of guy who would see a UFO; he seems like the kind of guy you’d see coming out of a UFO.”
• Best Fodder for the Late-Night Comedians: Senator Larry Craig (R-estroom) gave “new meaning to the word caucusing” (David Letterman) when he was caught playing footsie in the men’s room with his infamous “wide stance.” Craig announced his resignation, then later reversed his decision after “talking it over with guy in stall number 3” (Conan O’Brien), angering his Republican colleagues, some of whom “stopped having sex with him” (Jimmy Kimmel). The staunchly anti-gay lawmaker denied being a hypocrite, saying, “Hey, I wasn’t trying to marry the cop in the bathroom” (O’Brien). Later, he was inducted into the Idaho Hall of Fame — not the entire hall, “just the men’s room” (Jay Leno).
• Best Example of Why the Joke-Telling Should Be Left to the Professionals: Responding to a questioner who asked whether she was capable of handling evil-doers like Osama bin Laden, Hillary Clinton grinned as she answered, “What in my background equips me to deal with evil and bad men?” It was unclear what she may have been implying about dealing with her husband, but as Conan O’Brien speculated, it may explain “why Hillary wants to look for bin Laden at the nearest Hooters.”
• Information We Most Assuredly Could Have Done Without: A toss-up between Michelle Obama’s disclosure that her husband has such bad morning breath that their children won’t crawl into bed with him because “he’s too snore-y and stinky”; and John Edwards’ intimation that his wife’s rib cracked during some good lovin’.
• Least Likely To Win Votes From Duck Lovers: Mike Huckabee, who said in a speech to the NRA, “I’m pretty sure there will be duck-hunting in heaven and I can’t wait!” To which Jon Stewart quipped, “Are you saying that our heaven is duck hell? Is there any place a duck can go to not get shot?”