For Obama and Romney, one-liners are on the menu
Source: Agencies |
October 19, 2012, Friday
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Print Edition
Print Edition
US President Barack Obama and Republican challenger Mitt Romney put aside campaign vitriol for laughs today when they address the venerable Alfred E. Smith Memorial Foundation Dinner, a New York City white tie gala that has been a required stop for many politicians since the end of World War II.
In keeping with tradition, both candidates will leave behind the scowling predictions of doom should their opponent win the November 6 election and make comedic after-dinner speeches for the fundraising event organized by the Catholic Archdiocese of New York to benefit needy children.
That was the case almost precisely four years ago when Obama and Republican presidential contender John McCain poked fun at themselves and one another a day after an intense presidential debate at Hofstra University. As in 2008, this year's dinner also falls shortly after a fiery and confrontational presidential debate at Hofstra.
The two candidates are running neck and neck in the polls and Obama is hoping his strong debate performance on Tuesday will help him regain the momentum he lost following his poor showing in the first debate two weeks earlier.
The dinner is overseen by Cardinal Timothy M. Dolan, the spiritual leader of the Archdiocese of New York and president of the US Conference of Catholic Bishops, which has clashed with the Obama administration over contraception provisions in the new health care law.
Dolan has said he received "stacks of mail" protesting the dinner invitation to Obama. But Dolan has sought to avoid playing political favorites. He delivered benedictions at both the Republican and Democratic national conventions this summer.
Obama was campaigning in New Hampshire, one of a handful of closely fought "battleground" states in the election, before limbering up for his dinner speech with an appearance on Comedy Central's "The Daily Show."
The US president is not chosen by a nationwide popular vote but in state-by-state contests, making those that do not reliably vote Republican or Democratic overwhelmingly important in a tight race like this one.
Romney and Obama were traveling to New York, a state firmly on the Obama side of the political ledger, after they and their running mates fanned out to battleground states to mount an aggressive appeal for undecided female voters.
Obama campaigned in Iowa and Ohio on Wednesday, wearing a pink wristband to show support for Breast Cancer Awareness Month.
The Al Smith dinner is named for the former four-term governor of New York who was the unsuccessful 1928 Democratic presidential candidate and the first Catholic to run for president.
In keeping with tradition, both candidates will leave behind the scowling predictions of doom should their opponent win the November 6 election and make comedic after-dinner speeches for the fundraising event organized by the Catholic Archdiocese of New York to benefit needy children.
That was the case almost precisely four years ago when Obama and Republican presidential contender John McCain poked fun at themselves and one another a day after an intense presidential debate at Hofstra University. As in 2008, this year's dinner also falls shortly after a fiery and confrontational presidential debate at Hofstra.
The two candidates are running neck and neck in the polls and Obama is hoping his strong debate performance on Tuesday will help him regain the momentum he lost following his poor showing in the first debate two weeks earlier.
The dinner is overseen by Cardinal Timothy M. Dolan, the spiritual leader of the Archdiocese of New York and president of the US Conference of Catholic Bishops, which has clashed with the Obama administration over contraception provisions in the new health care law.
Dolan has said he received "stacks of mail" protesting the dinner invitation to Obama. But Dolan has sought to avoid playing political favorites. He delivered benedictions at both the Republican and Democratic national conventions this summer.
Obama was campaigning in New Hampshire, one of a handful of closely fought "battleground" states in the election, before limbering up for his dinner speech with an appearance on Comedy Central's "The Daily Show."
The US president is not chosen by a nationwide popular vote but in state-by-state contests, making those that do not reliably vote Republican or Democratic overwhelmingly important in a tight race like this one.
Romney and Obama were traveling to New York, a state firmly on the Obama side of the political ledger, after they and their running mates fanned out to battleground states to mount an aggressive appeal for undecided female voters.
Obama campaigned in Iowa and Ohio on Wednesday, wearing a pink wristband to show support for Breast Cancer Awareness Month.
The Al Smith dinner is named for the former four-term governor of New York who was the unsuccessful 1928 Democratic presidential candidate and the first Catholic to run for president.
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