The annual Alfred E. Smith Memorial Foundation Dinner was held tonight in New York City. It was truly a refreshing respite from the deteriorating 2008 Presidential campaign.
Here was Senators McCain & Obama, in white ties and tails, hilariously roasting each other in front of fellow politicos from both parties, as well as notable members of the media and local diocese.
Hearing such non-partisan, good-natured ribbing was almost like a blowing off of steam, and allowed viewers to recalibrate the emotional pressures that have been building these last few months.
It was also a strong reminder that for the most part, as Americans, we can aggressively do battle over ideology, and that “going for the jugular” does not have to be in a literal sense.