The headlines of the past year and those who shaped them were the target of the verbal jabs that flew fast and furious at the Hilton, during this year’s Inner Circle dinner and musical revue: Let’s Get Ready to Fumble! The two-act, costumed, song-and-dance show, staged by an elite group of 100 City Hall reporters who annually roast, rib, and skewer the Mayor, among others on the political and pop culture scenes, raised funds for 46 member-recommended charities.

One-two knock-out punches landed on Mayor Mike Bloomberg, President Bush, Martha Stewart, Donald Trump, even the temporarily homeless hawk, Pale Male, whose mate, Lola, crooned (to the tune of the theme song of the 60s sitcom Green Acres): “Darling I love you, but stay on Fifth Avenue.” And former Police Commish and brief nominee for Secretary of Homeland Security Bernie Kerik was a target, with Judith Regan, in “Love Shack.”

Other must-mentions: Mayor Mike’s bid for the 2012 Olympics, aided by a West Side Stadium, was immortalized in “King of the Road”: “Rail yard for sale or rent, for the Jets it’s fifty cents...I’m man of means, by all means, ‘King of the Gold!’ ” A Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton double was just “Stuck in the Middle with You,” in a duet with a stand-in for Howard Dean, chief of the Democratic National Committee (“… Nader’s to the left of me, Kerry’s to the right, Here I am…”). And NYC Schools Chancellor Joel Klein was “Down by the Schoolyard” with United Federation of Teachers Prez Randi Weingarten. The recipe-ready reporters even spiced up the menu descriptions, cooking up courses dripping with puns. Appetizers included: Pro Vallone and Tomato, and Olympic (Onion) Rings. Entrees included: Roasted Weiner on a Roll, Condoleezza Rice with Bush Tales, City Council Hot Dogs, and Half-Baked Inner Circle Ham. Dessert offered: Leslie Crocker Cakes and Cookies, and Schumer Sunday Surprise. Beverages: Red/White from Weingarten, Stadium Boos, and Martha Stewart’s Spring Water!

In the audience, former Bronx Borough Prez/Bloom-berg rival Freddy Ferrer seemed to have left his sense of humor at home. He sat grim-faced as The Beatles’ “Help” was sung with the words: “Help, I need some money!/Help, Freddie wants some money./Help! You know I need some dough./Help!” Early in the second act, he quietly slipped out.

Mayor Mike was in the audience, but didn’t appear in his traditional, on-stage parody/rebuttal out of respect for the death that day of Pope John Paul II. He told us that he was actually “very upset” about his decision to cancel his “act” and said he had worked hard on it. Oh well, the Mayor may have been benched, but the team played a winning game....