The Al Smith Dinner
In 1928 New York Governor Al Smith became the first Roman Catholic to run for President of the United States. He lost that election but it is widely believed that he paved the way for John F. Kennedy to run and win in 1960. Each year the Archdiocese of New York hosts a fundraiser at the Waldorf in his honor. During Presidential cycles this dinner doubles as a must see-and-be-seen for any legitimate Presidential candidate. It's a big deal. The West Wing even did an episode on it where the two candidates debated in the kitchen before being introduced. Last night however the two front running candidates from each party were not in attendance, even though they have attended this event before, are from (well in Hillary's case represents) New York and were surely invited. Why didn’t they show up? We'll get to that in a moment.
In attendance were Former UK Prime Minister Tony Blair, Senator Chuck Schumer, Governor Spitzer, Mayor Bloomberg, and City Council Speaker Quinn amongst New York's power elite. The 1,100 person dinner at $1,000 a plate just oozes political connections and prowess so why wouldn't the former mayor of New York or the current Senator from New York, who are both running for President, not want to get involved?
I’ll tell you why.
If they went last night, the story this morning would be that Mayor Michael Bloomberg got a larger ovation then the two of them…combined. The dinner is by no means a description of the American electorate but it is a room full of people who know about politics and have the influence to do something about it. From the standing ovation he received last night (contrasted by a “warm” reception for Gov. Spitzer) it is clear that Mike Bloomberg is there guy. If Hillary or Rudy went last night the only thing people would be talking about today (besides Joe Torre) is the fact that when these three people are side by side, in the same room, Mike Bloomberg is the most popular. Bloomberg scares them so much they are afraid to be in the same room with him for fear that he would out shine them! If Hillary and Rudy went to the dinner there would be a story in every newspaper today saying Michael Bloomberg got the bigger reception and would muse about a Bloomberg Presidential run. However, unfortunately for us, Hillary and Rudy did not go so I had to write this and point out to our millions of readers what would have happened. Hillary and Rudy can run and hide from the dais at the Waldorf now, but next fall they will have no excuses, be it at the Al Smith dinner or a three person Presidential debate stage. When they finally get into a room with Michael Bloomberg, it will become clear who the real leader is.
Read articles about the dinner here:
NY Times
NY Times Where’s Rudy and Hill?
BBerg More Popular then Governor
NY Daily News BBerg
Have a nice weekend. I hope it doesn’t rain.