Friday, October 17, 2008

Alfred E. Smith Dinner: Barack Obama and John McCain roast each other

After the combat of the Presidential debates and the rancor of the last few weeks it's nice to see some levity between the two Presidential candidates, Barack Obama and John McCain.

Both spoke at the Alfred E. Smith Memorial Foundation Dinner, roasting their opponents and themselves. You could almost say it was a reverse debate, every meme forwarded in the blogs and media from Obama's celebrity, his big ears, his "palling with terrorists", the "Greek columns" and more were self deprecatingly brought up by the Senator himself. By acknowledging the meme and making light of it, it (if only momentarily) took the sting out of them.

For McCain the memes he referenced were his 7 houses, his likeness to George W Bush, his campaign's pandering to 'Joe the Plumber' and the strained ties he's had within his own Party. Wait for the end of McCain's full speech as he parodies how Obama is perceived to eclipse everything McCain does.
I'm proud to count myself as your friend and ally. With that, with that, my friends, let me make way for my opponent, who tonight is making a comedy debut that I guess we could call the final test of this campaign...

But I do need to warn you, ladies and gentlemen, you all are about to witness the funniest performance in history...

Watch excerpts from the Dinner below
Barack Obama roasts McCain - Alfred E. Smith Memorial Dinner


John McCain roasts Obama - Alfred E. Smith Memorial Dinner



Read the full transcript of both speeches here

More about the Alfred E. Smith Memorial Foundation Dinner
Although both his state and his country generously honored Alfred E. Smith after his death in 1944, the most unusual and notable memorial to him has been an ongoing series of black-tie dinners. Sponsored by the Alfred E. Smith Memorial Foundation, these annual fĂȘtes were initiated by then-Archbishop (later Cardinal) Francis J. Spellman of the Archdiocese of New York in 1945. Since that time the Foundation has raised millions of dollars for healthcare causes.

Read Alfred E. Smith's biography

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