Even mid-level bureaucrats can find working for the federal government glamorous. Take Thursday night, when more than 1,400 people gathered in the Waldorf-Astoria’s ballroom to salute the federal civil servant.

It was the third annual gala of the Partnership for Public Service, a Washington-based organization founded in 2001 by a Yale College- and Harvard Law-educated businessman, Samuel Heyman, who began his career as an assistant United States attorney. The goal of the partnership, of which Mr. Heyman is chairman, is to attract the best and the brightest to government service.

Some of government’s best were at the event, such as honoree Senator McCain. “I tell my friends, if they don’t like the government, they should figure out a way to be part of it,” the Arizona Republican said.

Also present were Senator Lieberman of Connecticut, District Attorney Robert Morgenthau of Manhattan, Attorney General Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut, and Leonard Garment, the former Nixon aide.

Add to that list a lesser-known name in government, for the moment: the associate director for marketing practices at the Federal Trade Commission, Eileen Harrington. She gave the keynote speaker, the comedian Jon Stewart, some serious competition for the funniest lines of the evening.

Ms. Harrington spearheaded the creation of the federal do-not-call list, which allows consumers to avoid certain types of telephone solicitations. Within two weeks, the program had a 92% recognition rate among Americans, which, Ms. Harrington said, prompted the Federal Trade Commission “to form a committee to see if it should run for president.”

Yet she knows the consumer isn’t completely satisfied.

“If we could solve the spam problem, we’d really be your heroes,” Ms. Harrington said.

Ms. Harrington had her earnest moments, too. She described herself as “a 53-year-old kid who still gets teary looking at the Lincoln and Washington and Jefferson memorials.”

But she ended with a punch line – the job title of the government employee scheduled to speak after her.

“Jon Stewart must have made this one up,” she said before reading the title aloud: senior adviser to the under secretary for the Office of Terrorism and Financial Intelligence in the Treasury Department.

That official, Adam Szubin, hadn’t yet arrived, because of a flight delay. So an attorney in the U.S. attorney’s office, John Carlin, spoke in his place.

Both Mr. Szubin and Mr. Carlin were Heyman Fellows at Harvard Law School – a program that provides stipends and in some cases loan forgiveness for those who pursue government service.

Mr. Carlin was humble about his Harvard training, saying, “Washington is full of people my age doing jobs way over our heads.”

Eventually, it was time for Mr. Stewart to put his two cents in.

“This night celebrates one of our most cherished freedoms – the freedom to honor each other at dinner,” the host of TV’s “The Daily Show” said.

He noted how few government employees would actually be able to afford to go a dinner like the one he addressed.

Admittedly, titans of business may have outnumbered the mid-level federal bureaucrats. The event raised more than $2.2 million, from the likes of Julian Robertson, Carl Icahn, Tom Bernstein, John Rosenwald, and Jules Kroll. Mr. Kroll, founder of the eponymous security firm, paid $27,000 for a walk-on part in “CSI: New York” during a live auction conducted by James Niven.

Never did red, white, and blue look so dazzling. Five American flags were draped across the stage, against the backdrop of a red velvet curtain. Shimmery white balloons lined the ceiling. And at the dinner tables, guests sat in blue chairs with blue cushions and dined on tablecloths studded with large blue sequins.

It was enough to inspire some guests to consider a government job. Fran Drescher said she’d be happy either as president or a senator. Her agenda: “Redefine the separation of church and state, improve health care, and reform schools,” the comedian said.

Gautam Gujral said he’d be happy to have his former job with the government – as an attorney with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A banker, Todd Walters, said he would be a police official.

“I’d like to run a teaching corps,” Robert Klugman, an investment banker, said.

Jens Winther said his work in private equity is already “serving the public sector, directly or indirectly.”

Similarly, Dale Hemmerdinger said he already has a government job – as chairman of the Citizens Budget Commission, a nonprofit civic organization that closely watches the finances of city and state government in New York.

Perhaps the most interesting job forecast came from Senator Lieberman, who noted that Samuel Heyman’s wife, Ronnie, was a volunteer on his first campaign in New Haven, when she was a student at Yale Law School.

“Bill Clinton was around then, too. And if you’d asked me then who would wind up as president, I would have said Ronnie,” Mr. Lieberman said.