The Nitty-Gritty

With just about two weeks to go in this all-important election, the candidates are getting down and dirty. They're campaigning hard in key battleground states, shifting strategies, reallocating resources, speaking at packed rallies. They're trying to sway voters to their cause with strong statements about their policies (and in some cases, about the other candidates, too).

They're also having a little bit of fun.

Depsite the hard-fought nature of this election season, with Barack Obama and John McCain fighting tooth and nail to win the presidency, the candidates took some time out to poke fun at one another. Both candidates spoke at the 63rd Annual Alfred E. Smith Memorial Dinner. Traditionally, in a Presidential election year, the candidates are invited to speak at the event, and this time around, both Obama and McCain stepped away from the stump and into the comedic spotlight. Both men delivered hysterical speeches, taking shots at themselves and one another.

Below are portions of each man's speech.
John McCain:

Barack Obama:


Both men were able to take time away from serious, hard-line jabs at one another to poke fun at the other candidate. Obama said it best, when he told the audience that it was a testament to democracy that both men could be at each other's throats and still find time to do something like this.

And both candidates are also trying to use the World Series to win votes. Yes, baseball.

Obama, a noted Chicago White Sox Fan, had said he was rooting for the Philadelphia Phillies because his campaign manager is a Phillies fan. But he told a rally in Florida that he was impressed with the Tampa Bay Rays' run to the World Series.

McCain, however, took that as an opportunity to lash into his opponent. He told a crowd in Pennsylvania yesterday, “I heard that Senator Obama was showing some love to the Rays down in Tampa Bay yesterday. Now, I'm not dumb enough to get mixed up in a World Series between swing states, but I think I may have detected a little pattern with Senator Obama. It's pretty simple really. When he's campaigning in Philadelphia, he roots for the Phillies, and when he's campaigning in Tampa Bay, he shows love to the Rays. It's kind of like the way he campaigns on tax cuts, but then votes for tax increases after he's elected. Or the way he says he backs the middle class and then goes and attacks Joe the Plumber after he's asked a tough question. What’s that all about?"

Not quite a light-hearted quip about baseball by the senior senator for Arizona. But with the final stretch here, it's a bit surprising to see both candidates spending time on baseball instead of the issues.