NEW YORK -- Former New Mexico Gov. Gary Johnson brought down the house at Thursday night's Fox News/ Google debate when he joked about how his "next-door neighbor's two dogs have created more shovel-ready jobs than this current administration." 
 
 The joke killed among the GOP faithful. But was Johnson the first to use it? 
 
 Just today, talk radio host Rush Limbaugh delivered a similar joke on air. 
 
 "My dogs have created more shovel-ready work than Obama has just this week alone," Limbaugh said. "The new puppy. Honest to God. More shovel-ready work for me this week than Obama has created all two and a half years." 
 
 So what does Limbaugh think of the similarity? 
 
 "I guess I've become show prep for the GOP debates now, too," Limbaugh told The Huffington Post in an email. Limbaugh said he thought he used the line yesterday, "but the days run together, so I'm not really sure." 
 
 Limbaugh didn't hear the joke live because he was traveling, but said he's received many emails about it. 
 
 UPDATE: HuffPost’s Sara Kenigsberg spoke to Johnson about the joke shortly after the GOP debate ended. Johnson told her that Jim Villanucci, a former "Tonight Show" writer and current radio host on Albuquerque’s KKOB station, sent him several jokes late Thursday afternoon. "He texted me about eight one-liners that maybe I could use so it was one of those things that, 'wow, that was really funny," Johnson said. He didn't know about Limbaugh telling the joke earlier today. 
 
 WATCH ||||| ORLANDO, Fla. -- Last night, Gary Johnson won some actual, desparately needed buzz for this joke: 
 
 My neighbor's two dogs have created more shovel-ready jobs than this president. 
 
 Less than 20 minutes later, some gossip circulated: Johnson's joke was a whole lot like one Rush Limbaugh told earlier that day. 
 
 My dogs have created more shovel-ready work than Obama has. In this week alone. 
 
 I asked Johnson about this after the debate. "I didn't listen to the show today," he said. "Someone else encouraged me to tell that joke." Later, he told the Huffington Post exactly which friend sent him the zinger. 
 
 
 
 It's a credible story, because some version of the joke has appeared on bumper stickers since the Tea Party boom of 2009. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Subliminally, I wonder if this was one of the reasons the joke hit so well. There was familiarity, whether conservatives realized it or not. It may have been a year since they last attended large Tea Parties where stuff like this was on sale. Is this bad for Johnson? Hell, when's the last time he had a one-day story, much less a two-day story? ||||| Spending a Saturday night in to listen to a 90-minute discussion on foreign policy, NPR funding, and national service isn’t just for the CSPAN-loving policy nerds among us. 
 
 Earlier tonight, Bill O’Reilly and Jon Stewart participated in The Rumble 2012, a debate on the aforementioned issues and more. Armed with notecards (for O’Reilly) and a rising platform to stand on (for the 5’ 7” Stewart), the duo joked and sparred during a wide-ranging chat. (Check out Ken Tucker’s take on the proceedings). The discussion had plenty of moments we won’t be seeing during President Obama and Gov. Romney’s next debate: When asked what popular American they would put in charge, O’Reilly said Clint Eastwood, and Stewart couldn’t resist getting out of his chair — leaving it empty — and saying, “Well, why don’t we ask him?” Despite their obvious political differences, the duo clearly have a fondness for each other. 
 
 If you missed it, you can still download the whole thing from TheRumble2012.com — but for those who just want the highlights, check out the Top 10 lines from the event below. (Note: Like Stewart, O’Reilly made great points during the debate; unfortunately, as the non-comedian, O’Reilly had less quippy remarks). 
 
 1.) “My friend Bill O’Reilly is completely full of sh*t.” –Jon Stewart’s opening sentence, responding to O’Reilly’s opening statement that name-checked both Mitt Romney’s infamous “47%” comment as well as Sandra Fluke. 
 
 2.) “I have come here tonight to plead to the mayor of Bulls*** Mountain…talk to your people.” Stewart referenced Bulls*** Mountain – a phrase from one of his recent (and very popular) Daily Show bits – often during the debate, especially when talking about the “alternate reality” he felt many people inhabit. As an example, he brought up Big Bird (the political issue of the day) early on. 
 
 3.) “Income redistribution= Robin Hood on steroids” and “Drones, yes. Waterboards, no?” O’Reilly brought giant notecards with these phrases and more on them. 
 
 4.) “You’ve been begrudging all night! Begrudge, begrudge, begrudge!” – Stewart, when, during a discussion about entitlement spending, O’Reilly said he didn’t “begrudge” anyone help “who actually needed it.” 
 
 5.) “Why is it that if you take advantage of a tax break, you’re a smart businessman, but if you take advantage of something [he was referencing food stamps] you need to not be hungry, you’re a moocher?” –An especially exasperated Stewart, in one of his biggest applause lines of the evening. 
 
 6.) “I don’t care if Gerry and the Pacemakers attacked it [the embassy]!” “This is on the Internet, Bill. I really don’t think that’s the reference to make.” –O’Reilly and Stewart, making fun of Bill’s outdated references. 
 
 7.) “Fox News Network made [a ton of money] last year, so…”- O’Reilly “[Deeply sarcastic] You can’t make money selling crap in America, that’s for sure!” -Stewart 
 
 8.) “I think any time you run an organization where more people believe that Obama is a Muslim than believe in evolution, there’s a problem.” –Stewart, talking about Fox News 
 
 9.) “We’re only as good as our weakest link? We’re only as good as CNN? Are you kidding me?” –O’Reilly, responding to Stewart’s statement that America is only as good as its weakest part. 
 
 10.) “We won the war on Christmas, number one.” –O’Reilly 
 
 Did you watch? Who won the Rumble? 
 
 Read more: 
 
 Before their ‘Rumble,’ Jon Stewart and Bill O’Reilly duke it out — VIDEO 
 
 Jon Stewart slams Obama: His problem wasn’t body language, but ‘mouth language’ — VIDEO 
 
 President Obama needs to start watching ‘The Dark Knight Rises‘
– He still gets points for delivery, but Gary Johnson's well-received joke at last night's debate—"My neighbor's two dogs have created more shovel-ready jobs than this president"—goes back even further than thought, notes Daily Intel. For starters, Rush Limbaugh used it before the debate on his show. "I guess I've become show prep for the GOP debates now, too," he told the Huffington Post when asked about it. But Dave Weigel at Slate points out that the line has been around on Tea Party bumper stickers and signs since 2009. "Subliminally, I wonder if this was one of the reasons the joke hit so well," writes Weigel. "There was familiarity, whether conservatives realized it or not." Johnson certainly isn't claiming credit. He said he got the line from a former Tonight Show writer before the debate. Click for more.