LEWISTON – It was bound to happen. The hair pulled painfully tight at the back of her head. The stoic, monotone speeches on taxes and global trade.

U.S. Sen. Olympia Snowe is one funny lady. Finally somebody recognizes her for it.

Snowe was named “America’s Funniest Senator” by the creators of Zug.com, a zany Web group that posed as a 10-year-old letter writer to solicit jokes from the nation’s senators.

“Senator Snowe holds many firsts,” wrote John Hargrave, creator of Zug. “She was the first Greek-American woman ever elected to Congress, and later the first Republican woman to secure a full-term seat on the Senate Finance Committee. Now, she is the First Lady of Funny, sending in the joke that overwhelmingly won our popular vote.”

It was Hargrave who wrote a letter to the 100 U.S. senators, claiming to be a fifth-grader assigned to collect jokes from politicians.

Why did he do it? On his Web site, Hargrave said he just had to know if there was an ounce of funny in national politics.

“The common wisdom is that politicians are as funny as a groin injury,” Hargrave said. “But is it really true?”

Apparently not. Of the jokes sent in by 15 senators, Snowe’s was voted by zug.com visitors to be the funniest. In fact, Maine’s senator won by a decisive 22.7 to 15.2 percent margin over Democratic Sen. John Corzine of New Jersey. She even edged out presidential candidate John Kerry, who came in at number three.

“The distinction is certainly unexpected and perhaps somewhat dubious,” Snowe said when she learned of her new fame as political comedienne. “But I’ve always recognized that humor is essential. Indeed, self-deprecation and humor can be critical in a place like Washington.”

In a follow-up interview with Hargrave, Snowe was asked if the joke – it focuses on a politician and Michelangelo being welcomed into heaven – implies that all politicians go to hell.

“Well, some could!” Snowe responded.

The senator also said that of the words “gerrymander” and “filibuster,” gerrymander is the funnier.

That clearly shows her grasp of the comedic art.

On his Web site, Hargrave commended Snowe for responding to his letter from the fictional 10-year-old boy and for then granting him a phone interview.

Hargrave also included a special list of well-known senators who did not respond to the request. Those listed are Hillary Clinton, Trent Lott, Arlen Specter and Ted Kennedy.

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