Democratic presidential candidate Howard Dean's hourlong interview with the Associated Press was interrupted by a few moments of levity.

• Asked if he surfed the Internet: "Are you kidding? I just sit on planes and shake hands with people all the time."

"Are you asking whether I invented the Internet?" a reference to former Vice President Al Gore's suggestion that he created the Internet.

• On former President Clinton:

"All the times I've met him, all the times I've been to the White House, I knew when I was going to go in the room that I was going to have my hand grabbed and he was going to grab my elbow and I was going to be looking into his eyes and I was going to fall for it again. He's just the most amazing guy. I knew it. I knew I was going to be in his spell when I went up and shook his hand and sure enough."

Question: Did you fall under Hillary Clinton's spell? "She has a different kind of spell. I always liked her a lot. She's very, very smart and she's very direct. And so am I, so I've always been a fan of hers."