My quick observation of the Al Smith Dinner

[redstate_democrat]

That was the biggest, most disgusting display of elitism I have ever seen. Obama seemed the least comfortable among these elitist folks. McCain looked right at home. You had all of the media elite, bankers, politicos, etc there hob nobbing with each other as the economy burns to the ground. I read today that at least four car plants have closed or will close this month leaving thousands of people unemployed. This is just fucking rich.

Obama did well, however, trying to be polite to the snobs and crooks.

[FrenchieCat]

1. That was my thoughts!

[redstate_democrat]

2. I wanted to wretch

Having to watch Obama sit there and be polite, following these elitist's traditions, when I'm sure he would have rather spent the evening with real people or Malia, Sasha and Michelle. These people are fucking vulture leeches. I can't stand not one of them. Greedy bastards.

[ananda]

3. Obama even pointed out the symbols of richness there..

.. and contrasted them to what was
going on with so many Americans.

[redstate_democrat]

4. I liked that part

You know some rich bloated bastard in the audience rolled his eyes, though. These people like to get together and pat themselves on the back in the name of "charity".

Where is the fucking charity on Wall Street? Oh yeah, the charity is flowing one way: from our pockets to theirs. They may as well go ahead and write a little check for the tax deduction.

Greedy, soulless bastards.

[Clio the Leo]

5. Yep ..... love the way he referenced the gourmet food.

And there wasn't a single sweet potato pie reference to be heard. :)

[redstate_democrat]

7. Yeah, he talked about the champagne flowing, the gourmet dinner

when there are people out here in the real world wondering how they're gonna get their next bite to eat, running up their credit cards just to put food in their kid's mouth. Greedy fucking bastards.

[Roxy66]

23. They didnt like that much....

[woolldog]

6. No one can throw any parties b/c the economy sucks?

If everyone stops spending money b/c of guilt then more people will be unemployed.

[redstate_democrat]

8. Are we not in the worst financial breakdown since The Great Depression or what?

I'm not saying retreat to a bunker, but this shit was too elaborate, especially around a presidential election this important and when you have people LITERALLY handing on for life, pissed OFF that Wall Street just got a 1 trillion dollar bailout on their backs and NOTHING, not one single dime, coming back to their pockets.

It could have been a little more low key with the understanding of the state of the nation. If 9/11 had just happened, would this event still have been put on in this manner? We are facing economic Armageddon, right?

[VolcanoJen]

38. Try, just for a second, to think about the servers, bartenders, chefs, bus staff...

... banquet set-up and break-down crew, I could go on and on.

It's a sad fact of life, but parties like this keep people like me employed and making the rent every month. Yes, it was quite the display, all the women dripping in jewels and the men in white ties, certainly. But New York society has kept New Yorkers employed for centuries.

It's a silver lining. I know that's cold comfort... but, that's the way I tried to look at it.

[political_Dem]

9. You read my mind.

When I watched the highlights of the dinner, it pained me to listen to Mr. Obama's jokes because the realities outweigh the superficiality displayed in the room. He gave it his old college try and some of the quips were funny. However, it must have been hard for Mr. Obama to stand there joking about the bitterest of things that his opponent threw at him.

Now, I understand that sometimes the best way to let an opponent know that his/her attacks fall flat is to laugh at them. On that point, I understood the way the speech was written.

But, it was much easier for those ensconced with privilege to laugh.

And although McCain showed (begrudgingly) a softer side, it still does not take away from the thought that this was all an act. After all, the GOP is trying to shape a new narrative for him while his operatives hammer away at Mr. Obama. After all, that's what the appearances at the dinner and on Letterman were all about. McCain is good at acting. It is something he has done all of his life. So this "performance" should not even endear anyone to him. When the event is over, the taped messages on the phone will still play, the chants of "Kill Him!" will still happen, and of course, the accusation of "terrorist" will still come.

That's why I cannot believe that people could be easily fooled by McCain's change of heart at the dinner. The only truth of the matter is that he was in his element, as the OP stated.

And Mr. Obama, clearly now the most important man in the room, commanded attention solely because he is about to ascend to the highest office in the land.

[redstate_democrat]

12. Exactly

If Obama was not about to be President of the United States, would he even be there? I don't believe a DAMN WORD McCain said tonight. He is a bitter old codger who would stab Obama in the back (literally) if he could get away with it. This is the same man who in his DAILY attack ads, claims Obama is "palling around with terrorists" and who holds rallies akin to Klan meetings. His own party has compared Obama to Osama, put his face on a foodstamp, and accused him of infanticide and of being some freak who wants to teach kindergartners about sex.

Fuck John Sidney McCain III and the rich badger he rode in on. Fuck him and Cindy McCain, a wretched hag who said "a cold chill" ran down her brittle spine because Obama voted against troop funding when her own damn husband did the same thing.

Fuck him. I'm not falling for the act. He is trying to rehabilitate his reputation and campaign so he can win this damn thing. If that means putting on an act to do it, so be it.

The moment he gets elected, that all changes. Have we forgotten that McCain is an old vengeful cocksucker who has a REP in D.C. of being a total BITCH.

[political_Dem]

19. I agree.

In short, a lot of people have long memories of what the realities are in America. And McCain should not be allowed to escape his part in the perpetuation of the mess that we are in today. People should not ignore his acts on the campaign trail as well. He still hasn't owned up to anything.

I'm not falling for the act as well. I'm looking at this with a very skeptical eye because this man has been able to reel people in, steal from them, and then throw them under the bus. That is all he knows.

I keep on repeating this, but I am truly dumbfounded why people say this man is "good" and "honorable".

Judging from what he's done, McCain and Palin are cut from the same treacherous cloth.

[TTUBatfan2008]

10. Yes...

I could not help but notice that Obama was throwing some jabs at the elitist nature of the dinner. He brought up how extravagant everything was while pointing out that the rest of us are struggling right now.

[redstate_democrat]

14. I'm glad he kept it REAL

fuck these elitist backstabbers chowing down on some overpriced unrecognizable "gourmet food", guzzling back $300 a bottle champagne. These are the folks playing with people's money like play money on Wall Street. These are the people speculating and manipulating the system and holding their hands out for a handout. These are the people waging economic war on us. McCain looked RIGHT AT HOME and THEY ATE IT UP.

FUCK THEM.

[TTUBatfan2008]

17. And the one joke that fell really flat for Barack...

was the one about AIG. I wonder why. LOL, it's because those pricks in that room are of the same mold as the asshats at AIG. I even thought Barack looked completely uncomfortable in the white tie. He's usually stylin' and profilin' in a suit (or anything for that matter), but he looked awkward in such a fancy suit. Reminds me of Bush, who always looks right at home at these elitist dinners in the white tie suits.

[redstate_democrat]

21. YES! When he mentioned AIG, I thought I heard GROANS!

Can you believe THAT shit? Obama looked really out of his comfort zone. You could tell he didn't want to be there with these bloodsuckers.

[potone]

37. I disagree.

I thought the only good thing about the event--which I agree Obama probably would have liked to skip--was how good hie looked in a white tie. He is an elegant man, and showed much more true class than anybody else there.

[TTUBatfan2008]

11. double post...

oops.

[emilyg]

13. They all seemed to be enjoying themselves and

I enjoyed watching.

[woolldog]

16. yeah I don't see the big deal either....

I enjoyed it and thought they were both funny.

[emilyg]

20. They were. Did you notice

the elder gentleman sneaking food during the speeches?

[Raine]

42. Me too and I thought Obama looked cool and

elegant and fit in nicely in that crowd.

[krkaufman]

15. I still view the White House Correspondents dinner as the epitome of what is wrong w/ politics

... but see the Al Smith Dinner in a different light, since it's a dinner associated with the Al Smith Foundation, a charity w/ a mission of helping the poor and underprivileged.

http://www.alsmithfoundation.org

Distinctly different from the correspondents' dinner, where they're yucking it up with the very people they're supposed to be holding accountable.

[redstate_democrat]

18. I look at all of it the same way

You have the whole GANG in one room, laughing it up when there are serious problems in America right now. This was just TOO elaborate. White bow ties? Come the fuck on. Yeah, any other year, when things are better, when the country is not on the precipice of being ripped apart, when we're not at war, when Wall Street just didn't get a 1 trillion dollar bailout, then yeah,have your funky ass dinner.

But now? Just send the fucking check to the charity and call it a DAY.

[krkaufman]

31. Fair enough. Your mileage varies.

I still view the events as different beasts.

[steve2470]

22. I think they need to abolish that dinner ( the WHC dinner) or at least restrict

attendance to non-White House press corps journalist. It's too much of a conflict of interest IMHO.

[redstate_democrat]

25. Anytime you have David Gregory and Karl Rove dancing together on stage

then that's a problem for the country. It SHOULD be stopped. These people become personal friends. They marry each other. They get jobs and favors through each other.

How are they supposed to be impartial and watch each other? They can't.

[steve2470]

26. agree ! nt

[krkaufman]

27. Agreed. Any decent news organization wouldn't condone such fraternizing ...

... between their journalists and those they're supposed to be holding accountable.

[Baltoman991]

24. Thank you

I've been on other boards tonight saying this to people and they just told me that I should just laugh, that it was no big deal.

Tonight was wrong on so many levels as you and many others on this thread have pointed out. Obama didn't want to be there and it was easy to see that.

McCain was full of shit as usual.

I'm sure folks who are wondering if their lights will be on tomorrow or if they'll be able to feed their kids were just yucking up while watching this tonight.

[redstate_democrat]

29. This is what's wrong with D.C. politics, Wall Street, etc

Bankers, Hedge Fund managers, corporate CEOs, people famous for just being rich, have unlimited ACCESS to these politicians. They woo these politicos and gain from that.

This is how you get folks like Paulson heading the Treasury. This is how you get lateral moves from Treasury to CEO of Wachovia. This is how you become a lobbyist on off season and back to a politician when the season is back on. This is how you have massive conflicts of interests and bullshit policies created in Washington. The wrong people have all of the access and input.

[political_Dem]

32. Your statement deserves a standing ovation.

I think what you said succinctly describes the disjointed nature of this entire event.

I can understand that we all need a laugh, or two.

But, looking at the footage of the dinner was painful, for both Mr. Obama as the rest of us.

Later on this evening, I said to one of my family members that Mr. Obama had to be there for obvious political reasons because the position he was (or might) inherit. Otherwise, he'd be a fish out of water.

[WinkyDink]

28. The Alfred E. Smith Dinner "is an annual charity fund raiser for Catholic Charities." Please save

your disgust.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Al_Smith_Dinner

[redstate_democrat]

33. I know what it is but it is not your average charity dinner

It is a highly politicized event that caters to the super elite who want to feel special about themselves. How many white tie extravaganzas is the Salvation Army and Goodwill holding these days?

This, to me, is like AIG going on a half million dollar junket after getting bailed out. I know it's not completely comparable because this was for CHARITY, but one would think since it was for charity, there would be a sense of humbleness.

[steve2470]

30. A fast mental comparison to 1932 went through my mind.

The fatcats want McCain. The rest of us want Barack.

[redstate_democrat]

34. Yeah they want McCain

That's how I know they're pretty much worthless greedy bastards.

[TTUBatfan2008]

35. And here's the ultimate problem...

when you talk about the White House Correspondents' Dinner. Say Barack gets in office and abolishes it. Then what? Do you think he'll get anywhere near fair coverage from anyone other than Keith and Rachel? Hell no. It would be a Fox News attack on him all day, every day from everyone except for those 2 hours on MSNBC.

[1Hippiechick]

36. "What's that smell in this room? Didn't you notice it, Brick? "

Didn't you notice the powerful and obnoxious odor of mendacity in this room?" (Reminded me of a line spoken by ol' Burl Ives (Big Daddy) in "Cat on a Hot Tin Roof")

And exactly what is the purpose of this affair? People who are cutthroat on a day-to-day basis join together in a formal affair, displaying all the social graces as if they are one, big happy family? :puke:

Ultimate hypocricisy.

Did anyone notice how moved McCain was when Obama was so complimentary of him? Mixed emotions, I thought. I thought McCain was going to cry, and I felt sorry for him. :shrug:

I didn't hear McCain at the mike - was he civil about Barack?

[TTUBatfan2008]

39. Yes, he was...

[last_texas_dem]

40. I agree with you about the crowds...

However, I did enjoy many of the jokes made by both Obama and McCain. But elitist crowd? Certainly. I swear, it sounded like the only joke that got a negative reception was the crack about AIG extravagance. When Obama made the joke, it sounded like there was actually light booing in the crowd. Shows the kind of people that were present...

[vaberella]

41. Obama was clearly uncomfortable and said as much during his turn at the podium.

n/t

[moondust]

43. I couldn't watch it.

For that very reason.

I figured that some, perhaps many, of those people have been intimately involved in destroying the U.S. and world economy out of personal greed, ruthlessness, and arrogance.

:puke: