“Senator McCain couldn’t be here because he wants to distance himself from me.

“Senator Clinton couldn’t get in the building because of sniper fire.

“And Senator Obama couldn’t be here because he was in church,” President Bush said last night at the White House Correspondents dinner, poking fun at his potential successors.

It was a night when the scantly clothed Pamela Anderson was in the same room with Mitt Romney and President Bush called it the coming of the apostles.

The paid comedian of the night was Scottish-born Craig Ferguson, the host of CBS’ “Late Late Show.” who asked the audience as a new citizen of the United States who he should vote for in the next election, Republican or Democrat?

There was a loud roar for Republican, but a much louder roar for Democrat.

He then said, “That put’s to rest the liberal media bias.”

At one point he said during a description of the ‘mortal combat’ the Democrats are going through, “Hillary’s not here, but she will say she is.”

Ferguson noted that there were no sex scandals in the White house during the Bush Administration, but then he paused and said, “That is until Barney (the White House dog) humped the Pope’s leg.”

The President missed the punch line, turned to the right to ask what was said and audibly broke out laughing.

The president admitted to being “a little wistful” in his final appearance at the dinner, showing video clips of his routines from previous years, and then finishing by conducting the US Marine Band.