But Stewart turned serious when asked to discuss the tenure of former New York City mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani.

“What he did for our city was magnificent. Him carrying himself with dignity and courage made us feel like we were all going to survive,” he said.

When asked whether he would consider running for president, Stewart replied, “If the country was on fire, yes!”

He then qualified his response by adding, “There are pictures of me floating around that would disqualify me from working at a post office.”

During the latter part of the talk, Stewart took questions from the audience.

He grew animated when responding to a query about his future plans.

“Did they send you here to fire me?” Stewart asked. “So this is how it’s going to be!”

Audience members said they enjoyed Stewart’s light-hearted banter.

“I didn’t think the evening really plumbed the depths of Jon Stewart’s soul, but it was pretty funny. He is definitely a gifted comedian,” said Peter K. Williams ’06.

Friday’s talk marked the fourth year of the Institute of Politics humor series. The goal of the series, according to Weiner, is to explore the role of political humor in contemporary culture.

Past speakers have included comedians Al Franken ’73 and Chevy Chase.