U.S. Senate candidate for New York state, first lady Hillary Rodham Clinton, stands next to...

U.S. Senate candidate for New York state, first lady Hillary Rodham Clinton, stands next to the "carpetbag" that she brought on stage as she began the Democratic response to the 100th annual Legislative Correspondents Association Dinner in Albany, June 10. Funny is not a word that usually comes to mind in describing the first lady, who had the audience in stitches on Saturday when she delivered a 20-minute comic monologue to a dinner of reporters and political heavyweights. Tackling many of the criticisms slung at her during her bid for a U.S. Senate seat from New York, such as being an outsider and not a New Yorker, Clinton walked on stage looking lost and carrying the carpetbag in her hand.