Mitt Romney tries his hand at comedy (Screenshot/WSJ Digital Network)

President Obama and Mitt Romney traded the sharp jabs for uncharacteristic good humor on Thursday evening during the Alfred E. Smith Memorial Foundation Dinner in New York– a long-standing tradition for presidential candidates to attend.

The dinner, which was expected to raise about $5 million for Catholic charities, showed Romney poking fun at his own wealth.

Addressing the elegantly dressed crowd, Romney, a millionaire many times over, said "it's nice to finally relax and wear what Ann and I wear around the house." Of Obama, Romney said: "You have to wonder what he's thinking. So little time, so much to redistribute," according to The Mercury Times.

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President Obama joined in the playful self-deprecation.

Obama made light of his much-panned performance at his first debate with Romney on October 3. He said at the second debate, where he was judged the winner, he had been well-rested because of the "nice long nap I had at the first debate," reported The Chicago Tribune.

And, of course, the "binders full of women" gaffe could not be ignored. For that joke, Al Smith IV delivered it himself:

"I want to say a special welcome to all of the accomplished women here tonight. It's good to see you made it out of those binders," Smith said to laughter, according to The Chicago Tribune.

But in true politics fashion, there always has to be a winner. MSNBC kept a tally of the "jokes about the other guy" being made in deciding who won the comedic banter.

SEE ALSO: Romney Wins Six Rounds To Four In Second Debate

According to MSNBC, Romney made eight jokes about the incumbent. President Obama made three in return. But the way you win a comedy debate, according to MSNBC, is to make jokes about yourself. In that sense, Romney went wrong in staying too focused on faulting the President rather than poking more fun at himself.

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For other parties involved, the fun and games stopped there. As the contenders prepare for their final debate Monday night, their campaigns are taking every opportunity to get an edge in the polls as they discuss and dissect comments from Tuesday night's debate.

Mitt Romney's running mate Paul Ryan was quick to criticize President Obama on Friday about his comments regarding the attack on the U.S. Embassy in Libya.

• "If four Americans get killed, it's not optimal," the president said Thursday during an appearance on "The Daily Show" on Comedy Central, according to The Seattle Times. "We're going to fix it."
• "They refuse to answer the basic questions about what happened," Ryan said. "And so his response has been inconsistent, it's been misleading. And more than a month later we still have more questions than answers."
• The Wisconsin congressman said he hopes a congressional investigation and Monday night's presidential debate, with its focus on foreign policy, will provide answers.
• "That's why you have these investigations in Congress, to find out what exactly happened and why the stonewalling and why blaming (the) YouTube video for two weeks," he said. "The reason we need to get to the bottom of this is so we can prevent something like this from happening again."

Monday's debate, which will focus on foreign policy, could be risky for Romney especially since Libya was "his weakest moment" during Tuesday's debate, added to the fact that the GOP nominee has zero foreign policy experience.

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Though the debate will focus on foreign matters, some argue that the candidates will want to use the opportunity to appeal to women voters.

According to FOX News, "a USA Today/Gallup poll of female voters in 12 swing states this week, Obama’s lead among women voters over Romney is down to only one point, 49 percent to 48 percent. Obama’s lead among female voters was considered to be his firewall for this election."

Advertising campaigns have amped up their reach to women as well. According to the Associated Press, abortion is becoming a strong topic with less than three weeks to election day, even though the candidates themselves have noticeably steered away from it and even though polls have indicated that jobs and health care have taken precedence among most Americans' voting concerns.

As the polls between the candidates grows tighter, endorsements have also begun making a final push.

SEE ALSO: Romney Leads Obama By 7 Points In Gallup Poll

The Orlando Sentinel, which endorsed Barack Obama in 2008, has chosen Mitt Romney this year, even though he is not "their ideal candidate," according to The Huffington Post:

• "We have little confidence that Obama would be more successful managing the economy and the budget in the next four years," the editorial board writes, after outlining their displeasure with nagging deficits and a slow economic recovery. "For that reason, though we endorsed him in 2008, we are recommending Romney in this race."

Find more Neon Tommy coverage on the 2012 election here.

Reach Executive Producer Paige Brettingen here.