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Obama, Romney trade light-hearted barbs at charity dinner

By Catholic Online (NEWS CONSORTIUM)
October 19th, 2012
Catholic Online (www.catholic.org)

The tone was still biting - but far less vitriolic when President Barack Obama and GOP presidential candidate Mitt Romney traded barbs at the Alfred e. Smith Memorial Foundation Dinner. The occasion was to raise cash for charities supported by the Catholic Archdiocese of New York. The occasion brought forth some real "zingers."

LOS ANGELES, CA (Catholic Online) - President Obama joked about that "nice, long nap" he enjoyed during his first presidential debate with Mitt Romney.

Romney, dressed in a black tuxedo remarked that it was nice to "finally relax and wear what Ann and I wear around the house."

Held at the Waldorf-Astoria, with Timothy Cardinal Dolan seated between them, Obama and Romney dined on epicurean cuisine before launching a volley of gags at the podium.

Romney remarked that when he usually gets invited to such dinners, "It's to be the designated driver" and that part of his debate prep was "to refrain from alcohol for 65 years." Romney was making allusions to his Mormon faith.

Romney also remarked that Obama, who wants to raise taxes on the wealthy, probably was looking at the well-heeled crowd and thinking, "So little time, so much to redistribute."

Romney alluded to his first debate with Obama, when he vowed to cut funding for PBS. "Big Bird didn't even see it coming," he kidded. "And by the way, in the spirit of 'Sesame Street,' the President's remarks are brought to you tonight by the letter 'O' and the number 16 trillion."

Obama's appearance at the dinner was significant as he became the first sitting President to attend the dinner since Ronald Reagan in 1984.

"Please take your seats. Otherwise, Clint Eastwood will yell at them," Obama began, a reference to the actor-director's dialogue with an empty stool at the Republican National Convention.

"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," Obama noted, referring to his soft performance in the first debate.

Obama also took aim at New York Mayor Bloomberg's ban on large servings of soda. Win or lose, "This is my last campaign, so I'm trying to drink it all in. Unfortunately, Mayor Bloomberg will only let me have 16 ounces," he added.

Obama then poked fun at his Romney's wealth.

"Earlier today, I went shopping at some stores in midtown. I understand Gov. Romney went shopping FOR some stores in midtown," he said.

There were flashings of wit. Obama said he and Romney have some things in common, like their unusual middle names. Romney's is Mitt. "I wish I could use my middle name," said the President, whose middle name is Hussein.

The 1,600-guest dinner raised a record $5 million to benefit Catholic charities, $1 million more than the 2008 dinner, which featured Obama and Arizona Sen. John McCain.

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