Obama, Romney trade one-liners

Both presidential candidates poked fun at one another Thursday night at the Alfred E. Smith Memorial Foundation Dinner at the Waldorf Astoria Hotel in New York, a fundraiser sponsored by the Archdiocese of New York.

President Obama told guests that unemployment is at the lowest rate of his presidency — not a joke, he said, he just wanted to remind them — while Mitt Romney, combining references to the national debt and his comments to cut subsidies to PBS, said the event was "brought to you" by the letter “O” and the number "16 trillion."

The candidates took a break from the campaign to participate in a light-hearted roast, a tradition among presidential hopefuls. After saying voters in Ohio, Virginia and Florida will soon decide the outcome of the race, Obama quipped, “it begs the question: What are we doing here?”

Despite the affable nature of the event, both candidates took the opportunity to take jabs at their opponent.

Romney, who spoke first, took a dig at Obama for reminding the American people that President George W. Bush left him with a stuttering economy.

Romney described hypothetical advice Obama gave to Pope Benedict XVI. “Whatever the problem is, just blame it on Pope John Paul II.”

He also described President Obama’s term as coming to a close, “we are down to final months of the president’s term,” he said, adding that the Obama administration had many loose ends to tie up.

“So little time, so much to redistribute,” Romney quipped.

Romney took a shot at Vice President Biden, who couldn’t stop grinning during his debate against Romney's running mate, Rep. Paul Ryan (R-Wis.).

“I was hoping [Obama] would bring Joe Biden along because he will laugh at anything,” he said.

Obama hit back at Romney on his wealth, something his campaign has targeted throughout the race. After complimenting the city of New York, Obama said that while he went shopping in some stores in Midtown, his opponent “went shopping FOR some stores in Midtown.”

Obama also touched on Romney’s widely panned foreign trip, during which the Republican challenger criticized the London Olympics and made comments at a fundraiser that drew a sharp rebuke from Palestinian leaders.

“After my foreign trip in 2008, I was attacked as a celebrity because I was so popular with our allies overseas,” Obama said. “And I have to say I am impressed with how well Governor Romney avoided that problem.”

The candidates took on a self-deprecating note at times. Romney addressed Democrats' narrative that he is out of touch with average voters and Obama brought up his lackluster debate performance the first time around.

Romney joked about his white-tie tuxedo, “it is nice to wear what Ann and I wear around the house.”

He described the Manhattan scene as one he typically doesn’t fit into. “Usually when I get invited to places like this, it is to be the designated driver,” he said. Romney, as a Mormon, does not consume alcohol.

He also let the guests in on his debate prep, first “refrain from alcohol for 65 years,” Romney said.

Obama, who was widely panned for his performance in the first presidential debate, said he did a lot better at the town-hall-style debate Tuesday night.

“I had a lot more energy ... I felt well rested after the nice long nap I had in first debate,” he said.

He added, “Worse things can happen on your anniversary than forgetting to a gift.” The first debate coincided with the first couple's 20th wedding anniversary.

Obama also managed to slip in a shot against Ryan, who recently told a news outlet that he had run a marathon in less than three hours. It was later found out it took a little more than four hours.

“I have to admit [the campaign] can be a grind," Obama said. "Sometimes it feels like this race has dragged on forever. But Paul Ryan assured me that we have only been running for two hours and 50-something minutes.”

The president also touched on the candidates’ names: Willard Mitt Romney and Barack Hussein Obama. Noting that Romney uses his middle name, Obama wished he could do the same. “Actually, Mitt is his middle name,” he said. “I wish I could use my middle name.”

Thursday night was the third time in the dinner’s nearly 70-year history that a sitting president was featured alongside his opponent. It first happened in 1976, when then-President Gerald Ford attended the dinner alongside Jimmy Carter. Again in 1980, then-President Carter and challenger Ronald Reagan both showed up.

Among the more than 1,500 guests were such figures as New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg (I), Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D), Sen. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger, TV hosts Chris Mathews and Katie Couric and Fox News executive Roger Ailes.

---