![]() ![]() (APPLAUSE) When a reporter asked him if Senator Obama was qualified to be president, Bill Clinton pointed out - sure, he`s over 35 years of age and a U.S. (APPLAUSE) Delighted to see you here tonight, George. AL SMITH DINNER EMCEE FULLJOHN MCCAIN (R), ARIZONA: Even in this room full of proud Manhattan Democrats, I can`t shake that feeling some people here are pulling for me. And that made him more likable by virtue of being funny - and in a close race, that kind of thing can make a difference. But John McCain was legit funny at the Al Smith Dinner in 2008. I mean, for example, 2008 - John McCain at this point in the election in 2008 was probably so far behind that he was never going to win. And people really make personality-based decisions for voting. How a person tells jokes is part of his personality. In an election this close, it`s possible us getting to see them like this makes a difference to the election. Beyond that, like sometimes you have to get a little edgier than that to get a real laugh, especially in a room full of politicos. I mean, there`s that joke about what did the zero say to the eight? Nice belt. Because it is comedy, we get to see them sort of skirting the edge of propriety in a way you actually have to in order to be funny 90 percent of the time. There is value in seeing these guys talking in a way we would otherwise never get to see them talk. But beyond just entertainment, there is also value for a country trying to make up its mind between these two men. So, yes, at the base level, this just functions as entertainment because the speeches really are always funny and they are almost always well-delivered. AL SMITH DINNER EMCEE PROFESSIONALThey are doing comedy routines scripted by professional comedy writers. So, obviously, they are having people write stuff for them. But no presidential candidate is as funny naturally as these guys appear to be at this dinner. So it`s not like these guys have never told a joke. Now, you have to have a certain amount of charisma to be a candidate at this level. Bush and Al Gore in 2000, sharing a stage at the same event and appearing together in a way that they would otherwise never, ever make an appearance. Bush and Michael Dukakis, both there in 1988. Kennedy and Richard Nixon, both there in 1960. It`s just a couple of weeks before the election and you get both sides. But most years, what you`re looking at here is what happens. So neither candidate gets invited in those years. Also because this is a Catholic dinner, every once in a while, the New York archdiocese is mad at one candidate or the other for a political reason. I mean, there are some years where the dinner conflicts directly with the debate or rarely one of the candidates will decide to blow this dinner off. ![]() And traditionally, both presidential candidates go to these things. And it`s always timed like that, every time. But this one that you are looking at right here is different, because this one happens now, a couple of weeks before the election. That happens, right? There are those events in Washington and elsewhere around the country. There are other dinners that are fancy politics proms, essentially, where you get a sitting president or very high-level politician showing up in tuxedos and gowns and telling jokes and sharing stages with people they otherwise would not be sharing stages with. The Gridiron Dinner in Washington or the Alfalfa Dinner or the correspondence dinner. Honestly, the biggest reason it is really important is because of its timing. And this dinner, which is a benefit for Catholic charities here in New York City, has ended up becoming a really important thing in American presidential politics. Al Smith incidentally lost to Herbert Hoover in the 1928 election so Al Smith was not the first Catholic president but he was the first Catholic nominee for president. It`s named after the former governor of New York, Al Smith, who is the first American Catholic to ever be a presidential nominee. It is a tradition in American politics going back to the Second World War, this Al Smith Dinner. That`s the, you know, faceless emcee at this point. MADDOW: Our program is about to resume - about to resume. ANNOUNCER: Ladies and gentlemen, our program is about to resume. What you`re looking at right here is a live shot of an event that`s taking place about two blocks from here. And thanks to you at home for staying with us for the next hour. ![]()
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