Punchline at the Al Smith Dinner: Eliot Spitzer

Here’s a clip from the Alfred E. Smith Memorial Foundation Dinner last night, in which Cardinal Egan cracks a joke

Here’s a clip from the Alfred E. Smith Memorial Foundation Dinner last night, in which Cardinal Egan cracks a joke about Eliot Spitzer and his driver’s license policy.

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But the most humbling thing Spitzer heard last night was the reaction he got from the more than 1,000 guests at the black-tie event in the Waldorf Astoria. Right after Michael Bloomberg received a thunderous greeting from the audience, Spitzer walked on stage to a noticeably less enthusiastic reception.

"It reflects the popularity of Bloomberg" said attendee Vincent Sciarrillo, a senior VP of Emigrant Bank, "and it reflects the, how would you say, the feelings that perhaps Spitzer has not behaved as he should as governor."

"It was obvious the mayor was well-liked and Spitzer is not well-liked," said retired NYPD detective Maria Fitzgerald of Long Beach, Long Island, who said she was related to Tony Blair, the night’s featured guest (Fitzgerald said her great-grandmother and Blair’s great-grandmother were sisters). "Spitzer is clueless." she said.

Punchline at the Al Smith Dinner: Eliot Spitzer