Have You Heard the One About N.Y.’s Eliot Spitzer on the Comedy Channel?

Not many people think of New York Attorney General Eliot Spitzer as funny but last night he showed he might have a future in comedy if his campaign for governor falters.

As a guest on Comedy Central TV’s fake news show, The Colbert Report, Spitzer revealed that he hunts for bears in Central Park and that, contrary to rumors, corporate chieftains are not writing checks to his gubernatorial campaign just to get him out of the attorney general’s office.

Colbert said he invited Spitzer on his show because the attorney general agreed not to prosecute him. Spitzer is the favorite to win the Democratic nomination in the race to succeed George Pataki as governor.

Colbert was astounded that Spitzer enjoys a 61 percent approval rating in New York whereas elsewhere “most people don’t know who their attorney general is.”

“You could punch a toddler and still win,” Colbert claimed.

Spitzer wasn’t so cocky about winning, however. He said he’s worried about the other 39 percent. “Who are they? I’m here to take names, find out who they are, chase them down.”

Noting that Spitzer has gone after Wall Street, the insurance industry, Clear Channel and many others with his investigations, anchorman Colbert wondered who was left to contribute to Spitzer’s campaign.

“Are Wall Street executives cutting checks to your campaign just to get you out of the job of attorney general?” Colbert asked.

As he often does, Spitzer responded with reference to Teddy Roosevelt, citing rumors of some 100 years ago that business leaders conspired to have Roosevelt named vice president just so he would no longer be governor.

Spitzer said he sees no signs of such a conspiracy surrounding his candidacy. “I can assure you, their checks are not coming in,” he joked.

How much money will he have to raise to run for governor?

Spitzer estimated about $30 to $40 million, which he termed “an almost obscene amount.”

Why “almost obscene?”

“It’s not completely obscene because I’m about to do it,” the candidate explained.

Colbert sought Spitzer’s help combating one of his pet fears: bears. That prompted Spitzer to again compare himself to Teddy Roosevelt, who was known for his love of hunting. Spitzer volunteered that he regularly hunts bears in Central Park.

“I haven’t caught any yet but I’m still hunting,” Spitzer reported.

“But you have caught a few bulls,” Colbert noted.