Last night brought a refreshing sigh of relief to the stressfulness of the campaign season. At the Alfred E. Smith Memorial Foundation Dinner, both John McCain and Barack Obama told jokes, making fun of themselves as well as other top politicians. A CNN article entitled McCain, Obama roast each other at charity dinner recounts the night’s top jokes and shows clips of the candidates’ bits. Obama joked that his greatest strength was his humility and stated that his biggest flaw was that he may just be a bit too “awesome.” McCain humorously introduced Obama, preparing the audience for what was sure to be “the funniest performance in the 63 year history of [the] event…the funniest 15 minutes of your life or any other.”

The two were all smiles, a good sight to see in contrast to their all-serious expressions throughout the debate season. It’s relieving to see the two candidates a little more at ease than usual. Since the birth of the television, presidential candidates have had the hard job of portraying themselves in a perfect light through debates, television ads and conventions. Although I know both comedic performances were perfectly planned, both men seemed relaxed and seemed to enjoy the night—a good reminder that they’re normal people, with real lives, emotions and senses of humor, rather than the political robots they’ve seemed to become lately.