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**Io Zeno** · 10-17-2008, 01:30 AM

Quote:

October 17, 2008

At Dinner, McCain and Obama Share Some Laughs. No Joke.

By MICHAEL COOPER and JEFF ZELENY

Senator John McCain, the Republican nominee for president, announced that he had dismissed his entire team of senior advisers. “All of their positions will now be held by a man named Joe the Plumber,” he cracked.

His rival, Senator Barack Obama, then made a confession about his past associations. “John McCain is onto something,” he said. “There was a point in my life when I started palling around with a pretty ugly crowd, I’ve got to be honest. These guys were serious deadbeats; they were lowlifes; they were unrepentant no-good punks. That’s right: I’ve been a member of the United States Senate.”

With a pair of rivals taking time away from the fray to swap jokes, it could only be the Alfred E. Smith Memorial Foundation Dinner in New York, the white-tie charity roast that has long served as a lighthearted rest stop on the road to the White House. It brought Mr. McCain and Mr. Obama together on Thursday night to dine and trade some jokes — some self-deprecating, some not so much — just one night after a debate so rough that many commentators could finally dust off all those boxing metaphors they had been saving up this year.

They poked fun at themselves — and each other — in consecutive monologues that had their audience of New York royalty at the Waldorf-Astoria in stitches.

Mr. McCain answered critics who said the Ohio plumber he made famous as a hardworking everyman in Wednesday night’s debate would not earn enough money to face any tax increase under Mr. Obama’s fiscal plan.

“What they don’t know — what they don’t know — is that Joe the Plumber recently signed a very lucrative contract with a wealthy couple to handle all the work on all 7 of their houses,” Mr. McCain said, in an allusion to a flap he caused last summer when he was unable to remember how many homes he and his wife own.

Scanning the crowd, he said, “Even in this room full of proud Manhattan Democrats, I can’t shake that feeling that some people here are pulling for me,” quickly adding, “I’m delighted to see you here tonight, Hillary,” as he nodded to Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton.

He also referred to the awkward moment in the second presidential debate when he disdainfully referred to Mr. Obama as “that one.”

“He doesn’t mind at all,” Mr. McCain said. “In fact, he even has a pet name for me: George Bush.”

Mr. Obama said his first name was actually Swahili for “that one.”

“There is no other crowd on America that I’d rather be palling around with right now,” he said. “It is often said that I share the politics of Alfred E. Smith and the ears of Alfred E. Newman.”

He poked fun at his reputation for arrogance, asking, “Can somebody tell me what happened to the Greek columns that I requested?”

And, looking toward his rival, he said, “I think it is a tribute to American democracy that with two weeks left and a hard-fought election, the two of us could come together, and sit down at the same dinner table without preconditions.”

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/17/us...th.html?ref=us

**Io Zeno** · 10-17-2008, 01:54 AM

Oh, and here are the youtubes.

Why am I doing this? I don't know.

YouTube - John McCain Brings Down The House - Al Smith Dinner Part 1

YouTube - John McCain Brings Down The House - Al Smith Dinner Part 2

YouTube - Obama at Al Smith Dinner -Part 1-

YouTube - Obama at Al Smith Dinner -Part 2-

**Cristiano** · 10-17-2008, 03:21 AM

See, that is what I like to see - the fact that they can both laugh at themselves, and each other, is definitely a good thing. I have missed that side of John McCain especially, I am glad to see it's still in there somewhere.

Taco Rubio · 10-17-2008, 05:09 AM

i kind of needed a break, thanks Io.

**Humps** · 10-17-2008, 08:07 AM

Watching those I can't help but think that if McCain had relaxed, and shown that side of his personality a little more he would be doing much better than he is. For the first time to me he seemed likeable, human and good natured. The contrast between his debate performances and that speech were remarkable.

Cindy Claveau · 10-17-2008, 09:20 AM

Alfred Smith Memorial Dinner: A laugh riot

**Io Zeno** · 10-17-2008, 02:58 PM

lol sorry, Cindy, it was 2 in the morning.

Cindy Claveau · 10-17-2008, 02:59 PM

**Io Zeno** · 10-17-2008, 03:03 PM

Mine has video.

Cindy Claveau · 10-17-2008, 03:07 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Io Zeno

Mine has video.

I was reporting LIVE as it happened!

(I just couldn't type fast enough)

**Io Zeno** · 10-17-2008, 03:08 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cindy Claveau

I was reporting LIVE as it happened!

(I just couldn't type fast enough)

Maybe you should have done one of those nude reporter deals.

Cindy Claveau · 10-17-2008, 03:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Io Zeno

Maybe you should have done one of those nude reporter deals.

Next time!

I SHALL RETURN!

Sooz Pascale · 10-17-2008, 03:40 PM

THIS, the dinner, not the Io, cindy conratemps, is very healthy, very very healthy.

This country is probably more polarized right now than at any time since Appomatax. If we can laugh at ourselves and WITH each other, the chances of us going into the streets and countryside shooting each other, lessens considerably.

Sooz

Trout Recreant · 10-17-2008, 07:41 PM

I agree. This makes me happy on a lot of levels. I know these guys have a sense of humor in there somewhere. I'm glad to see them relax a little. if we could get them, and all their colleagues in Government to do the same, we could right this ship.

10-17-2008, 09:20 AM	#6 (permalink)
Cindy Claveau Cheap but never free "-ish" Join Date: Jun 2007 Posts: 12,564 My Mood: SL Join Date: May, 2005 Awards: 2	Alfred Smith Memorial Dinner: A laugh riot __________________ Sometimes, "I hit it with my axe" is the best solution.

10-17-2008, 03:40 PM	#13 (permalink)
Sooz Pascale Long Distance Sailor Ribald Lewdness Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: Los Angeles Posts: 3,751 My Mood: SL Join Date: January 27, 2007	THIS, the dinner, not the Io, cindy conratemps, is very healthy, very very healthy. This country is probably more polarized right now than at any time since Appomatax. If we can laugh at ourselves and WITH each other, the chances of us going into the streets and countryside shooting each other, lessens considerably. Sooz __________________ Nothing sickens me more than the closed door of a library - Barbara Tuchman

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10-17-2008, 05:09 AM	#4 (permalink)
Taco Rubio Senior Member folksy Join Date: Jun 2007 Posts: 732 My Mood: SL Join Date: 2/15/04	i kind of needed a break, thanks Io.

10-17-2008, 08:07 AM	#5 (permalink)
Humps Senior Member SLU Supporter I refuse to edit my status Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: UK Posts: 2,354 My Mood: SL Join Date: 19th May 2006 XBOX Leaderboard: 31^st Awards: 1	Watching those I can't help but think that if McCain had relaxed, and shown that side of his personality a little more he would be doing much better than he is. For the first time to me he seemed likeable, human and good natured. The contrast between his debate performances and that speech were remarkable.

10-17-2008, 02:58 PM	#7 (permalink)
Io Zeno Gone SLU Supporter Stoking the fires of Hell Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: New York City Posts: 17,021 My Mood: Blog Entries: 1 Awards: 1	lol sorry, Cindy, it was 2 in the morning.

10-17-2008, 02:59 PM	#8 (permalink)
Cindy Claveau Cheap but never free "-ish" Join Date: Jun 2007 Posts: 12,564 My Mood: SL Join Date: May, 2005 Awards: 2

10-17-2008, 03:03 PM	#9 (permalink)
Io Zeno Gone SLU Supporter Stoking the fires of Hell Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: New York City Posts: 17,021 My Mood: Blog Entries: 1 Awards: 1	Mine has video.

10-17-2008, 07:41 PM	#14 (permalink)
Trout Recreant Oncorhynchus mykiss Incomprehensible gibberish Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: West Coast, USA Posts: 5,998 My Mood: Blog Entries: 3 Awards: 1	I agree. This makes me happy on a lot of levels. I know these guys have a sense of humor in there somewhere. I'm glad to see them relax a little. if we could get them, and all their colleagues in Government to do the same, we could right this ship.

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