Mike Pence jokes about 2012

At last night's Washington Press Club Foundation dinner, Rep. Mike Pence (R-Ind.) used his lighthearted, deadpan speaking slot to indulge the speculation that he's looking at a 2012 presidential bid.

"I'm trying to get over that all-important 3 percent mark in the straw polls," said Pence. He recounted a phony conversation with President Obama in which the president questioned whether the country was ready for a "politician from the Midwest ... with so much experience."

"Maybe I'm overqualified," said Pence with a smirk.

It wasn't his best-received joke. That was an extended impression of former president George W. Bush, which Pence carried off with an accent and exaggerated body language meant to show how Bush had behaved during a 2006 Oval Office meeting. "I'm an encourager!" said Pence-as-Bush, shaking his hands in the air. "I want you to be ... encouraged! I want you to get some ... encouragement!"