OBAMA AND ROMNEY AT THE SAME TABLE LAUGHING .....

After their fiery exchanges at the presidential debate earlier this week, Barack Obama and Mitt Romney were in a more jovial mood on Thursday evening as they traded stinging jokes at the annual Al Smith dinner.

They poked fun at one another on Thursday night during the esteemed New York Catholic charity event that has long been a required stop for presidential candidates. Romney mocked his own wealth while taking aim at the president for running up the federal debt while Obama noted the 'nice long nap' he had taken during the first presidential debate.

The two rivals donned tuxedos and white ties to share the dais at the Alfred E. Smith Memorial Foundation Dinner, an annual gala that has drawn political leaders and other notables since the end of World War II. The event was a comedic pause in a contest that has drawn increasingly nasty and close with less than three weeks left before the November 6 election.

Hugging it out: The angry exchanges of Tuesday night seemed to be forgotten as the two presidential candidates laughed together at the charity dinner in Manhattan while Ann Romney looks on

President Obama looks over at Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney as he makes his podium speech