Conventions wisdom in the McCain-camp appears to be that this side of him can easily go from funny to mean-spirited... his handlers apparently really wanted him to NOT show this side of himself especially in the debates and other extemporaneous situations.
“Al Smith” was deemed a safe place to unleash “this” McCain because:
A. the event is famously as close as politics gets to a no-holds-barred kind of roast
b. the speech was pre-written and screened by campaign folks
c. the Al Smith Dinner has a fairly limited, “wonky” audience
I (for one) wish we had seen much more of this McCain over the last 3 months or so — if only for the entertainment value — but the fear that McCain could “go to far” was probably a reasonable one — apparently, he can be a crusty old so-and-so
He looked uncomfortable and way over his head...
REALLY wish the American public had seen more of THIS Obama in the last 3 months... If “we” are dumb enough to elect this guy — it will give new meaning to “buying a pig in a poke”