I confess to liking Craig Ferguson. He was the best part of the Drew Carey Show, but I guess that’s not necessarily high praise.

Having him as the host of the White House Correspondents’ Dinner this year had to beat the crap out of last year’s pick — Rich Little. At least nobody has to consult DeadorAlive to see if Ferguson is still with us.

Here are some of his lines from the dinner.

• “I spoke to a lot of journalists about how I should speak up here. And all the journalists said ‘Craig, Your duty is to speak truth to power. That’s what you do, you hold the truth up for everyone to see, that’s your job.’ I’m sorry. I don’t see it that way. That’s your job. You’re journalists. I’m a late night television show guy. I make up crap that isn’t true then I say it on TV. I’m like Fox News. I’m not a journalist.”
• “It’s your task to watch the government, to make sure they don’t exceed their power. [Stops and looks over at Dick Cheney.] And well done with that, by the way, the last eight years.”
• “The New York Times unfortunately did not buy a table. They felt, I just want to make sure I got this right, they felt this event undercut the credibility of the press. It’s funny. You see, I thought that Jayson Blair and Judi Miller took care of that.”
• “Listen, I don’t envy the person who wins the Democratic nomination for the presidency because they, he or she will face the full force of the Republican attack machine come the election. Bill Kristol, Bob Novack, George Stephanapoulos.”
• [Turning to Bush] “You’re retiring as a young man. What does a president do? You could look for a job with more vacation time.”
• “During your administration there was not one single sex scandal in the White House except the time when Barney humped the Pope’s leg.” [That one had to be repeated to Bush, who didn’t get it the first time. The second time he laughed.]
• “Tonight we mark the end of an era. George W. Bush leaves in eight months. The vice president is already moving out of his residence. It takes longer than you think to pack up an entire dungeon.”