Presidential competitors Barack Obama and John McCain took some friendly cracks during last night's Al Smith Dinner, a Catholic charity event and routine pit stop for presidential campaigns.

McCain joked that he's qualified to be a "maverick," but a "messiah," a reference to Obama's adoring masses, is "above my pay grade." The Republican also took a shot at Bill Clinton:

Where's Bill, by the way? Can't he take one night off from his tireless quest to make the man who defeated his wife the next president? The man is a relentless advocate for the Obama campaign, and he has a subtle approach to making the case. When a reporter asked if Senator Obama was qualified to be president, Bill pointed, "Sure, he's over 35-years of age and a US citizen."

Even Hillary Clinton laughed at that one.

Obama got some good quips in, as well, telling the crowd he wouldn't rather be "palling" around with anyone else, a clever take on McCain's assertions that the Democrat pals around with "domestic terrorist" William Ayers. He also joked about the evening's locale:

Tonight's venue isn't really what I'm used to. I was originally told we'd be able to move this outdoors to Yankee Stadium - and can someone please tell me what happened to the Greek columns that I requested? I do love the Waldorf-Astoria, though. You know, I hear that from the door step, you can see all the way to the Russian Tearoom.

He also took some friendly shots at McCain's age, saying the Senator told him wonderful stories about former Governor Al Smith, with whom he shared great times before prohibition. It's gold!

Watch both men's acts, after the jump…

[Image via Reuters]

McCain's knee-slappers:

And Barack's: