After debate, candidates face roast at Alfred E. Smith Dinner
Alvarez/News From left, George H.W. Bush, John Cardinal O'Connor and Michael Dukakis at the Alfred E. Dinner in 1988. Below, Richard Nixon and Lyndon B. Johnson in 1968.
AP Barack Obama and GOP rival John McCain trade their boxing gloves for formal wear - and some self-deprecating humor - at Thursday night's Alfred E. Smith Dinner.
The annual see-and-be-seen political roast, named for the famed 1920s New York governor, is "the last time they're going to be together before the election," said Smith's great-grandson and namesake.
The dinner has a storied history, having featured luminaries from Winston Churchill to George W. Bush.
And with the excitement generated by the presidential candidates at the top of the marquee, this year's soldout soiree has surpassed its goal of raising $2.5 million for Catholic causes.
"I've heard from people I haven't heard from in 20 years," Smith told the Daily News.
Political heavyweights will pepper the dais: Sen. Hillary Clinton, Gov. Paterson, Mayor Bloomberg and former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger.
Former Gov. George Pataki, former Mayor Ed Koch and Manhattan District Attorney Robert Morgenthau will be there, too.
When Smith approached then-McCain adviser John Weaver about the Republican nominee appearing, "He said, 'We'll be there.' I said, 'I haven't given you the date yet.' He said, 'Doesn't matter.'"
McCain spoke at the Al Smith dinner in 2005.
Getting Team Obama to commit was slightly more work: "My line to them was, 'I know you're coming. You know you're coming.'"
McCain and Obama will each deliver 15-minute talks.
Appearing at the Al Smith dinner is a tradition for presidential candidates, with both major nominees typically attending in an election year.
"They say Jack Kennedy won the [1960] election at the Al Smith Dinner," Smith said in his office at St. Vincent's Catholic Medical Centers, which features an array of Gov. Smith's photos and an Obama bobble-head doll.
In 2004, Democrat John Kerry - a Catholic - was not invited, presumably for his pro-choice stance on abortion. As a result, President Bush also did not attend.
Alfred E. Smith, the nation's first Catholic presidential candidate back in 1928, died in 1944. The first dinner in his honor came a year later at the behest of then-Archbishop Francis Spellman. Since then, it has become one of the premier fund-raisers for the Archdiocese of New York.
Last year, with former British Prime Minister Tony Blair headlining, the dinner raised $1.8 million for charity, Smith's great-grandson said.
source: http://www.nydailynews.com/news/politics/2008/10/15/2008-10-15_after_debate_candidates_face_roast_at_al.html
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Alfred Emmanuel Smith was born on Manhattan’s teeming Lower East Side. He was of primarily Irish descent. Alfred was forced to quit parochial school after his father's death and worked for a while at the famous Fulton Fish Market.
Alfred E. Smith
Smith began his long political career in 1894, when he supported an anti-Tammany Hall candidate in a local race. The candidate lost, but Smith was rewarded with a political appointment by the city’s mayor. By 1903, he had mended fences with Tammany leaders and ran successfully for the New York assembly, where he teamed with fellow Democrat Robert F. Wagner in investigating labor conditions; the tragic Triangle Fire of 1911 had made worker safety a matter of broad public concern. Smith was elected Democratic leader in 1913 and speaker of the assembly two years later. In 1915, he was a pivotal figure in a convention that redrafted the New York’s constitution, winning plaudits from friends and foes alike.
Smith continued his political ascent by election as New York county sheriff in 1915 and president of the New York City board of aldermen in 1917. He resigned from the latter position in 1918 and ran successfully for governor. He failed in a reelection bid in 1920 — the year of a great Republican landslide — but took back the governor’s chair in 1922, 1924 and 1926. Smith was an extremely popular figure, easily recognizable in Albany or New York City with his brown derby and the ever-present cigar. The affability of the “Happy Warrior” contributed to his success in working with Republican majorities in the assembly to win passage of laws regulating child labor, improving factory conditions, creating state parks and providing for the mentally ill. Smith also made his mark as an administrator by reducing the number of state departments and agencies, but increasing efficiency.
Fellow Democrat Franklin D. Roosevelt placed Smith’s name in nomination as the party’s presidential candidate in 1924. Smith, however, became deadlocked with a Southern candidate, William G. McAdoo, and the nomination eventually went to a compromise candidate, who lost decisively to Calvin Coolidge in the fall.
In 1928, Smith was again nominated by Franklin Roosevelt at the Democratic convention and gained an easy first ballot victory. However, Smith’s New York accent, Irish immigrant heritage, Roman Catholicism and ties to big city political machines did not wear well in the South and West. He was soundly defeated by Herbert Hoover and an electorate that equated prosperity with the Republican Party.
Smith was unable to generate much momentum behind a drive for renomination in 1932, losing out to former friend and ally Roosevelt. In succeeding years, Smith became a somewhat controversial figure in Democratic circles. He was a founder of the American Liberty League, a group of influential financial and industrial leaders who allied with conservative Democrats to oppose many of the New Deal programs. Smith drifted so far from his roots that he backed Republican presidential candidates in 1936 and 1940.
Smith has been roundly criticized for succumbing to protracted bitterness, but several recent historians have attributed his opposition to Roosevelt’s agenda to issues of principle rather than carrying a grudge.
Smith served for many years as the president of the corporation that operated the Empire State Building in New York City.
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Alfred E. Smith
He was the first Catholic presidential candidate.Son: Alfred Smith, Jr. (politician) Governor of New York 1922-1928 Governor of New York 1918-1920 State Assembly 1904-15, Speaker 1913 Irish Ancestry Author of books: Up to Now (1929 ...
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312 pgs. ...ALFRED E. SMITH An American Career GOVERNOR ALFRED E. SMITH ALFRED E. SMITH An American Career BY HENRY MOSKOWITZ NEW YORK THOMAS... Progressive Democracy: Addresses & State Papers of Alfred E. Smith by Alfred E. SmitALFRED E. SMITH An American Career GOVERNOR ALFRED E. SMITH ALFRED E. SMITH An American Career BY HENRY MOSKOWITZ NEW YORK THOMAS... Progressive Democracy: Addresses & State Papers of Alfred E. Smith by Alfred E. SmitALFRED E. SMITH ALFRED E. SMITH An American Career BY HENRY MOSKOWITZ NEW YORK THOMAS... Progressive Democracy: Addresses & State Papers of Alfred E. Smith by Alfred E. SmitALFRED E. SMITH An American Career BY HENRY MOSKOWITZ NEW YORK THOMAS... Progressive Democracy: Addresses & State Papers of Alfred E. Smith by Alfred E. SmitAlfred E. Smith by Alfred E. SmithAlfred E. Smith. 377 pgs. ...
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"It is an honor to be here with Al Smith," said Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., speaking at the 63rd annual Alfred E. Smith Memorial Foundation Dinner to benefit Catholic charities. "I obviously never knew your great grandfather, but from everything that Senator McCain has told me, the two of them had a great time together before prohibition. So, wonderful stories."
So began Obama's comedy monologue, which included a few good yuks, as did McCain's.
McCain, the schtickier (and arguably, funnier) of the two candidates, spoke first at the dinner packed with V.I.P.’s that is traditionally the last side-by-side appearance of the two presidential candidates, as well as an opportunity for them to poke fun at each other and themselves.
The roast, which raised $3.9 million to help underprivileged children, is dedicated to the memory of former Democratic New York Gov. Al Smith, the first Catholic to win the presidential nomination of a major political party, who lost to Republican Herbert Hoover in 1928, 444 electoral votes to 87.
"I can't shake that feeling that some people here are pulling for me," McCain said, turning to the far side of the stage. "I'm delighted to see you here tonight, Hillary."
Sen. Hillary Clinton, D-NY, and all others in the crowd, guffawed.
McCain added that Clinton’s husband, former President Bill Clinton "has been hammering away with me with epithets like, ‘hero.’”
McCain said that his rival was not fazed by being called, "That one," during the second presidential debate. "He doesn't mind at all,” McCain said, “in fact, he even has a pet name for me: George Bush.”
In a sign of just how much the media-McCain relationship has turned, the Arizonan stated that “the press is really an independent-minded, civic-minded, non-partisan group, like ACORN."
"It's going to be a long, long night at MSNBC if I manage to pull this thing off,” McCain said. “I understand that Keith Olbermann has ordered up his very own ‘Mission Accomplished’ banner. They can hang it up in his padded room"
McCain introduced Obama, who at one point joked that he was confused.
"I was originally told the venue would be Yankee Stadium,” he said. “Can somebody tell me what happened to the Greek columns that I requested?"
Obama said the venue was fine, thought.
"I do love the Waldorf Astoria,” Obama said. “I hear from the doorstep you can see all the way to the Russian Tea Room." It prompted much laughter from McCain.
Then Obama turned to the question McCain had been asking as of late: Who is the real Barack Obama?
“Contrary to the rumors you have heard, I was not born in a manger,” Obama said. “I was actually born on Krypton and sent here by my father Jor-El to save the planet Earth.”
Regarding his name, Obama said that “Barack is actually Swahili for ‘that one’. And I got my middle name from somebody who obviously didn't think I’d ever run for President.”
Said the Democrat, “If I had to name my greatest strength, I guess it would be my humility. Greatest weakness, it's possible that I’m a little too awesome.”
Obama took on another McCain criticism: the attack, earlier this election season, that he’s nothing more than a celebrity.
“I have to admit that that really hurt,” Obama said. “I got so angry about it I punched the paparazzi in the face on my way out of Spago's. I’m serious. I even spilled my soy chai latte all over my shih tzu. It was really embarrassing.”
“One other thing,” Obama added, “I have never, not once, put lipstick on a pig or a pit bull or myself. Rudy Giuliani, that's one for you. I mean -- who would have thought that a cross-dressing mayor from New York City would have a tough time winning the Republican nomination? It’s shocking. That was a tough primary you had there, John.”
He added that “some of the rumors out there are getting a bit crazy. I mean, Rupert the other day, Fox News actually accused me of fathering two African-American children in wedlock.”
He added that “at one of these campaign rallies, someone in the crowd started yelling, ‘No-bama,’ announcing to everyone in the room that I shouldn't be the Democratic nominee because there were far more qualified candidates. I really wish Joe Biden hadn't done that.”
found at: http://blogs.abcnews.com/politicalpunch/2008/10/obama-and-mccai.html
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