'... Obama asked me to tell you: If you like your rented tuxedo, you can keep it.' —John Kerry Gridiron Dinner: Top 10 lines

Here are some of the best lines from Saturday’s annual Gridiron Dinner at the Renaissance Washington Hotel.

1. “Canadians are so polite, mild-mannered, modest, unassuming, open-minded. Thank God my family fled that oppressive influence before it could change me.” — Texas Sen. Ted Cruz


2. “Al Hunt asked me if I was nervous about tonight. I said, ‘Hell, no. If my jokes bomb, the Gridiron Veterans for Truth will just tell the world that I was never here.” — Secretary of State John Kerry

( Also on POLITICO: 9 jokes from Obama's Gridiron speech)

3. “I know what you’re thinking: Why Charlie Crist? Simple: The Gridiron wanted someone of color.” — Former Florida Gov. Charlie Crist

4. “The Gridiron always pokes fun at candidates from both parties. You could have saved time and just invited me.” — Crist.

5. “Is Charlie Crist still here? I had to check – he’s always so quick to leave a party.” — Kerry

6. “No one was harder to follow than Hillary Clinton. Not since J. Edgar Hoover has a presidential appointee left such high heels to fill.” — Kerry

7. “President Obama asked me to tell you: If you like your rented tuxedo, you can keep it.” — Kerry

( Also on POLITICO: Obama pokes fun at Woodward, press grumbles)

8. “I’ve been watching the second season of ‘House of Cards.’ It’s very realistic, very lifelike. But I was a little worried when I got a late-night call from Mitch McConnell. He said, ‘Uh, Ted, why don’t you meet me at the Metro station?’” — Cruz

9. “The simple truth is that for a very brief time my family lived on the plains of Calgary. That does not make me a Canadian. Although Elizabeth Warren says that it does make me an Algonquin Indian.” — Cruz

10. “Terry is the Virginia governor who buys his own Rolexes.” — journalist Al Hunt, introducing Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe.

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