Last night's Alfred Smith Dinner put on by Catholic Charities was exactly what we all needed to get through the last 18 days of this grueling election. After months/years of pretending to live in an alternate universe where their talking points define reality, Barack Obama and John McCain not only acknowledged the headlines we've all been reading, but did so with a dose of self-deprecating, and opponent-deprecating, humor. While it was swell to see the candidates having fun, I was most excited that I got to laugh at this campaign, rather than sigh in disbelief, frustration, or suspense.

Some of Obama highlights:

  • "Can somebody tell me what happened to the Greek columns I requested? I do love the Waldorf-Astoria. I hear from the doorstep you can see all the way to the Russian Tea Room.â€
  • “Barack is actually Swahili for ‘that one.’ And I got my middle name from someone who obviously didn’t think I’d ever run for president."
  • “My greatest strength is my humility. My greatest weakness is that I am a little too awesome.â€

Some of McCain's highlights:

  • "It's going to be a long, long night at MSNBC if I manage to pull this thing off. I understand that Keith Olbermann has ordered up his very own Mission Accomplished banner. And they can hang that in whatever padded room has been reserved for him."
  • Bill Clinton "has been hammering away with me with epithets like, "hero."
  • Says that Joe Biden falsely claims that Joe The Plumber isn't rich enough to trigger the Obama tax hike; "What they don't know is that Joe The Plumber recently signed a lucrative contract to handle all the work on all seven of their houses."

There are many, many, more good jokes. To see the video, read more.

Obama

Get Flash to see this player.

McCain

Get Flash to see this player.

Who do you think won the Al Smith dinner?

Source