McCain, Obama Bring Down House At Al Smith Dinner

GOP Presidential Hopeful Delivers Laugh-Out-Loud Speech
Obama Follows With Talk Of His Home Planet Of 'Krypton'
October 17, 2008
By JEFF CAPELLINI
WCBSTV.com Senior News Producer

NEW YORK (CBS) ― If only John McCain had more nights like Thursday. The Republican presidential hopeful walked into the 63rd annual Alfred E. Smith Memorial Foundation Dinner at the Waldorf Astoria in Manhattan as a clear underdog, not just in the polls, but also in a room filled with an overwhelming number of powerful New York Democrats. By the time he was through with his near-14-minute speech, he probably made a lot more friends and earned more respect than he'd had previously.

For his part, Barack Obama had plenty of his own funny moments, but following McCain on this night proved to be much more difficult than most out on the campaign trail.

McCain has been criticized for being combative and a bit of a bully in debates, but was anything but on Thursday night.

McCain brought down the house, lighting up faces and shedding a room full of tears with a speech that put a fun touch on countless issues that have been leading the news over the last few weeks. the rest