Bill Clinton at Gridiron dinner: "Didn't have anything much better to do tonight."

President George W. Bush performs at the annual Gridiron Club Dinner in Washington in March 2008. (White House Photo by Chris Greenberg)

For the second year in a row, President Obama skipped the white-tie Gridiron dinner, the 125th annual off-the-record (oxymoron alert!) gathering of journalists. Obama sent a short video; his in-person replacement was Bill Clinton, clearly basking in the limelight and tossing one-liners to Saturday's audience of 700 at the Renaissance Hotel.

"I really didn't have anything much better to do tonight," said Clinton, who poked fun at Democrats (on Rahm Emanuel: "I found Rahm. I created him. I made him what he is today. I am so sorry"), Republicans, and himself: "Nowadays, my favorite cocktail is Lipitor on the rocks."

Each party was represented by a VIP speaker. Republican Sen. Orrin Hatch went naughty, and Democratic Sen. Claire McCaskill went naughtier, according to giddy Twitter feeds: "In Washington, we know there's a huge difference between a prostitute and a politician. There are some things a prostitute won't do," she said.