Before Stephen Colbert, There Was Bob Hope

June 19, 2010— -- From Franklin D. Roosevelt to Bill Clinton, there was one man who spoofed and satirized 11 United States presidents on a national stage -- Bob Hope.

Sharp but never too pointed in his criticisms, he always got big laughs.

Now, the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C., is celebrating Hope's humor and his unique way with the White House in an exhibit called "Hope for America: Performers, Politics & Pop Culture."

Through the years, Hope was often the one to get the president's ear.

"Normally I don't go for too many political jokes," quipped Hope. "Too many of them are getting elected."

Hope also loved taking shots at America's political system. He famously once said, "No one party can fool all of the people all of the time. That's why we have two parties."

Hope was always asked the inevitable question -- would he consider running for office? He once told Johnny Carson he wouldn't because "The money's not right. And I wouldn't want to be president because [Hope's wife] Dolores wouldn't want to move into a house that's smaller."

Alan Gevinson, the exhibition's curator, explains Hope's affable relationship with the Commanders-in-Chief he teased on a nightly basis by saying, "The Presidents felt comfortable with his manner of joke."

Also known for his self-deprecating humor, Hope's jokes were often at his own expense.

After seeing his image on a medal presented to him by President Kennedy, Hope remarked, "I told Senator Simon I should have had a nose job. But he said there would've been less gold."

The exhibit replaces a previous one that ran for 10 years called, "Bob Hope and American Variety," which focused on Hope and vaudeville.

Now, for the first time, the Library is publicly displaying 85,000 pages of Hope's joke files. He died in 2003 at the age of 100, but donated his recordings and collection to the Library.