Is This Thing On? McCain and Obama Trade Jokes in NYC

Laura Meckler reports from New York on the presidential race. John McCain and Barack Obama came together Thursday night for back-to-back turns at offering witted, self-deprecating and laugh-out-loud political humor at the Alfred E. Smith Memorial Foundation Dinner at the Waldorf Astoria in New York City. The event has drawn the contenders in most presidential election years to the white-tie event in Manhattan. (For the full story, click HERE .) McCain spoke first and wasted little time in poking fun of his own campaign. “This morning, I’ve dismissed my entire team of senior advisers,” he told the who’s who crowd of political and media elites. “All their positions will now be held by a man named Joe the Plumber .” Yes, McCain allowed, the Obama campaign says that Joe doesn’t earn enough to be faced with a tax hike. “What they don’t know is that Joe the Plumber recently signed a very lucrative contract with a wealthy couple ... (link)