LOS ANGELES, Jan. 3 (UPI) -- U.S. Republican presidential contender Mike Huckabee was the first guest on "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno" when the show returned to the air Wednesday night.

Leno's show was shut down for two months because of the ongoing Writers Guild of America strike.

After talks between the WGA and the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers broke down last month and no new negotiating sessions were scheduled, Leno announced he would return to work without his writers to protect the jobs of his non-writing staff.

Leno received a standing ovation when he took the stage Wednesday.

"A Jew, a Christian and a Muslim walk into a bar. The Jew says to the Muslim ... See, I have no idea what they say because there is a writers' strike going on," he said, kicking off the show.

Assuming a more serious tone, Leno said, "The writers are right, by the way. ... We had to come back because we have essentially 19 people putting 160 out of work. We continue to support the guild."

After doing a monologue he wrote himself, Leno answered questions from the audience and then interviewed Huckabee, who later sat in with the house band.