Presidential politics are rough.  By the time everyone is limping into October, the candidates and the entire country are feeling battered, bruised, and darn near sick of the whole thing.  Every time I hear a reporter begin a phrase “if the election were held today…”  all I can think is ‘boy, wouldn’t that be great.’

McCain has all but called Obama a terrorist, and Obama has all but called McCain foolish and senile.  The ads are nasty and intentionally misleading.  This is especially frustrating because the candidates are so radically different.  There is no need to exaggerate the candidate’s policies or intentions, they are pretty clearly different already.

I’ll say upfront that I am a longtime Obama supporter.  I understand that McCain is sinking in the polls and, with three weeks to go, may feel like his only recourse is to throw as much mud as is humanly possible, but it makes me angry.  And even a casual viewer of the recent McCain rallies can see the anger his supporters are feeling and expressing as well.

In this atmosphere it is easy to forget that the candidates are people.  It is human nature to line up behind your man and slowly begin to feel like the opponent is nothing short of the antichrist who is hell bent on “destroying the fabric of our democracy” (anyone recognize that gem?)

Which is why I was so pleased to wake up this morning and start my day off with this video of the candidates speaking at some swanky Catholic charity dinner.  Apparently, this is some fancy pants 50 million dollar a plate fundraiser that the New York glitterati all attend and, apparently, it is traditional for the presidential candidates to give funny speeches.

(has anyone noticed the frequency with which I use the word “apparently”?  It’s out of control.  Apparently lots of things are apparent to me)

You must, must, must take 30 minutes of your day and watch these.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/27234647

And I’ll tell you why.

It reminds you why people like your opponent.  I’ll be the first to admit that I used to like John McCain and I have been somewhat horrified at his transition from a charming, funny, moderate, to an angry, mean, standard bearer for the far right.  This video reminds America why he has been a favorite guest on the Daily Show and David Letterman.

McCain is a funny guy (with excellent speech writers).  He has great comic timing, and an excellent dead pan delivery.  And when he’s not at a debate looking like his head might explode with anger on the split screen, he can be charming and respectful of his opponent in a way that has not been evident recently.

Similarly, Obama was able to shake off his calm seriousness for a little while and joke some about himself and this whole craziness he is involved in.  He has nowhere near the comedic skills of senator McCain, but luckily there is a lot of material out there.

McCain joked about Joe the Plumber, his underdog status and “that one.”  Obama joked about being perceived as the second coming, his ears, his middle name, and the terrorist references.

Here are a couple of my favorite moments, just to give you a sense of the thing.  I’m going to paraphrase a bit, because, honestly, I really don’t care enough to go back and transcribe it.

McCain:  “The Democrats have already been jumping all over Joe the Plumber and saying things like ‘how could a plumber possibly make that much money?’  Well, my friends, what they don’t know is that Joe recently got a very lucrative contract from a wealthy couple to handle all of the plumbing needs on their seven houses.”

Obama:  “The race has been getting nasty.  Just last week, I was at a rally where someone started yelling ‘NOBAMA.’  Apparently they were angry because they thought an older more experienced candidate should have been chosen as the nominee. (pause)  I sure do wish Joe Biden hadn’t done that.”

Comic gold, my friends.

For me, in a brief moment, I felt like both candidates released a lot of the steam and anger that had been building up on both sides.  It seemed like the two of them might someday be able to sit down in a couple of leather chairs, pour a tumbler of whiskey and all laugh about this.  (Probably not, but here’s hoping)

Of course, they are still in the midst of an election and they both took a couple of shots meant to score a political point or two.  McCain made an unfunny, poorly received joke about Acorn and Obama sent a virtual gasp through the  room with a joke about AIG and suffered through some truly uncomfortable silence after a very funny but poorly delivered joke about Rudy Giuliani.

There was one other thing that I couldn’t help but notice but I doubt a lot of other people will pick up on (this is because I’m so smart…. And handsome). 

Think for a moment.  If you were to write self deprecating jokes about this campaign that poked fun at the candidates, what would be the biggest target out there?

How about Sarah Palin?

There were an endless number of jokes, from both sides, about McCain, Obama, Biden, both Clintons, Bloomberg, Giuliani, Chuck Schumer, MSNBC and Fox News.  There was not a single joke, mention, or even oblique reference to the Republican VP. 

For someone who has been so mercilessly lampooned on SNL, and all of the late night talk shows, what does it mean that no one would, or could, joke about her at this event?  I’ll tell you what it means.  In general, you can only make fun of people who can take it – people who, although they may make mistakes, are generally accepted to be smart, respectable individuals otherwise. 

You can poke fun at McCain’s age because we all know that he is not senile or physically ill.  You can poke fun at Obama’s ego and borderline worship by supporters because he is a smart, capable guy. 

Why can’t either of the candidates joke about Palin’s interviews and personal background?  Is it because they would hit a little too close to home?  Funny jokes always have a bit of truth in them, but they stop being funny when they are too true.  That’s when it crosses from poking fun at, to making fun of.  Apparently both campaigns saw Sarah Palin as off limits, because to say out loud what everyone is thinking wouldn’t be funny, it would be cruel.

I would be fascinated to see whether anyone else will pick up on this, although I doubt it.  This isn’t much of a story in general, and this point is miniscule and forgettable at best, but, boy, it does make you think.  (Or at least it makes me think… and that’s always a good thing)

But Palin aside, it was wonderful to see this.  It reminded me why McCain is (or was) so beloved.  If I thought lots of people might actually see this video, I would worry that it could swing the election his way.  Luckily, my readership is in the low double digits so I think Obama is safe. 

But please, take a minute, enjoy a little comedic interlude in this gladiator battle and try to see the humanity in whichever candidate you’re not voting for.  It’s easy to forget that it’s there.  And it’s important to remember that deep down, both these guys are good people who both want the best for their country.  They just have radically different ways of achieving that. 

Oh, and one of them is totally wrong.

But that’s for another column.