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<\/div>\n<\/p>\nPresident Barack Obama, left, talks with Cardinal Timothy Dolan, second left, as Republican presidential candidate and former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney and Ann Romney are seated at right as they attend the 67th annual Alfred E. Smith Memorial Foundation Dinner, a charity gala organized by the Archdiocese of New York, Thursday, Oct. 18, 2012, at the Waldorf Astoria hotel in New York.<\/p>\n
Amid Brutal Campaign, a Respite. With Jokes.<\/b><\/p>\n
By RICHARD A. OPPEL Jr.<\/p>\n
President Obama and Mitt Romney finally found something they could agree on during Thursday night\u2019s 67th annual Al Smith white-tie charity dinner: Jokes about Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr. get big laughs.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve heard some people say, \u2018Barack, you\u2019re not as young as you used to be. Where\u2019s that golden smile? Where\u2019s that pep in your step?\u2019 \u201d Mr. Obama said. \u201cAnd I say, \u2018Settle down, Joe. I\u2019m trying to run a cabinet meeting here.\u2019 \u201d<\/p>\n
Speaking of Mr. Biden\u2019s animated debate performance, Mr. Romney said: \u201cI heard from the Federal Election Commission: From now on, whenever he appears on TV, there\u2019s a recording of me afterward that says, \u2018I\u2019m Mitt Romney and I approve this message.\u2019 \u201d He added, \u201cI was actually hoping the president would bring Joe Biden along this evening because he will laugh at anything.\u201d<\/p>\n
In a campaign notable for the contempt in which Mr. Romney and Mr. Obama at times seem to hold each other, the dinner at the Waldorf-Astoria to benefit Catholic charities \u2014 one of the quadrennial proving grounds on the road to the White House \u2014 also lived up to its other billing: a respite, however brief, from a campaign that has grown nastier as it has grown closer, illustrated just a few nights ago during a heated, in-your-face debate at Hofstra University.<\/p>\n
The equally skillful performances on Thursday night of Mr. Obama and Mr. Romney almost seemed jarring for how civil and self-deprecating each could be in the other\u2019s presence \u2014 even as they lacerated their rivals\u2019 campaign missteps. \u201cWe were chatting pleasantly this evening as if Tuesday night never happened,\u201d Mr. Romney said.<\/p>\n
Mr. Romney, the Republican presidential nominee, who like Mr. Obama wore a black tuxedo and a white bow tie, began his speech by saying that, \u201cIt\u2019s nice to finally relax and wear what Ann and I wear around the house.\u201d<\/p>\n
Noting the large and wealthy audience before them, he said of Mr. Obama: \u201cYou have to wonder what he is thinking \u2014 so little time, so much to redistribute.\u201d And he took a poke at Mr. Obama\u2019s \u201cyou didn\u2019t build that\u201d statement, saying the apostle St. Peter had \u201cso many skeptics and scoffers at the time who were heard to say, \u2018If you got a church, you didn\u2019t build that.\u2019 \u201d<\/p>\n
Mr. Romney also shared his secrets for debate preparation: \u201cFirst, refrain from alcohol for 65 years before the debate. Second, find the biggest available straw man, and then just mercilessly attack him. Big Bird didn\u2019t even see it coming.\u201d And he joked that while he leans on his wife for comfort and support, he said Mr. Obama \u201chas Bill Clinton.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mr. Romney also took his swipes at the news media. \u201cMy job is to lay out a positive vision for the future of the country, and their job is to make sure no one else finds out about it,\u201d he said. And anticipating the coverage of the dinner, he joked that tomorrow\u2019s headlines would read, \u201cObama Embraced by Catholics; Romney Dines With Rich People.\u201d<\/p>\n
Both men got a lot of laughs. Mr. Obama got his first while the audience was still giving him a standing ovation: \u201cEveryone please take your seats, otherwise Clint Eastwood will yell at them.\u201d<\/p>\n
He was quick to make light of his poor performance in the first debate. \u201cAs some of you may have noticed, I had a lot more energy in our second debate. I felt really well-rested after the nice long nap I had in the first debate.\u201d He added, \u201cI learned that there are worse things that can happen to you on your anniversary than forgetting to buy a gift.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mr. Obama noted that he and Mr. Romney spent their free time before the dinner in somewhat different pursuits. \u201cEarlier today, I went shopping at some stores in Midtown. I understand Governor Romney went shopping for some stores in Midtown.\u201d<\/p>\n
And he came prepared with his own retort to Mr. Romney\u2019s \u201cbuild that\u201d joke, reminiscing about how he used to \u201clove to go to old Yankee Stadium, the house that Ruth built \u2014 although he really did not build that.\u201d<\/p>\n
The president took a swipe at Mr. Romney\u2019s running mate, whose claim to have run a sub-three-hour marathon was later proven to be more than an hour too generous. \u201cSometimes it feels like this race has dragged on forever,\u201d Mr. Obama said, \u201cbut Paul Ryan assured me that we\u2019ve only been running for 2 hours and 50-something minutes.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mr. Obama said that while he and Mr. Romney both have unusual names, Mr. Romney, whose full name is Willard Mitt Romney, goes by his middle name. The president \u2014 whose full name is Barack Hussein Obama \u2014 joked, \u201cI wish I could use my middle name.\u201d<\/p>\n
He also mocked Mr. Romney\u2019s turbulent foreign trip, contrasting it with his own overseas trip in 2008, after which he said he was \u201cattacked as a celebrity because I was so popular with our allies overseas.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI have to say I am impressed with how well Governor Romney has avoided that problem,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
President Barack Obama, left, talks with Cardinal Timothy Dolan, second left, as Republican presidential candidate and former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney and Ann Romney are [Read More]<\/a> ![\"image\"](\"http:\/\/localhost:8000\/\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/peace.jpg\")
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