Ohio Gov. Ted Strickland brought down the house at the Democratic National Convention Tuesday night with a crack about President Bush – and John McCain – that harked back to one of the sharpest verbal stones ever thrown at Bush's father.

“You know, it was once said of the first George Bush that he was born on third base and thought he'd hit a triple,” Strickland said. “Well, with the 22 million new jobs and the budget surplus Bill Clinton left behind, George W. Bush came into office on third base, and then he stole second.”

As the crowd roar, Strickland added, “And John McCain cheered him every step of the way.”

The first version of the line was delivered with a wry smile at the 1988 Democratic convention in Atlanta by the first President Bush's fellow Texan Ann Richards, then the state's treasurer and later its governor.

Richards died two years ago. Her daughter, Cecile Richards, now president of Planned Parenthood of America, spoke to the convention earlier Tuesday night.