The Alfred E. Smith Memorial Foundation Dinner is an annual charity fund raiser for Catholic Charities. It is organized by the Alfred E. Smith Memorial Foundation in honor of former New York Governor Al Smith, the first Catholic presidential candidate. The first dinner was in 1945, the year after Al Smith’s death. The 2008 dinner raised $3.9 million.

Since 1960 (when Richard Nixon and John F. Kennedy were speakers), it has been a stop for the two main presidential candidates during several U.S. election years. In 1976, Gerald Ford and Jimmy Carter spoke; in 1980, Carter and Ronald Reagan; in 1988, Michael Dukakis and George H.W. Bush; in 2000, Al Gore and George W. Bush; and in 2008, John McCain and Barack Obama. Since 1945 only two presidents have not spoken at the dinner: Harry Truman and Bill Clinton. In recent years the candidates have traditionally given humorous speeches.

In 1984, Ronald Reagan spoke, but his opponent, Walter Mondale, opted out, saying he needed time to prepare for an upcoming presidential debate.

In 1996 and 2004, the Archdiocese of New York chose not to invite the presidential candidates. In 1996, this was reportedly because John Cardinal O’Connor was angry at Democratic nominee Bill Clinton for vetoing a bill outlawing some late-term abortions.[4] The organizers’ explanation was that the candidates had been unable to commit to attending the dinner.[4] The vice-presidential candidates spoke instead. In 2004, Archdiocese spokesman Joseph Zwilling explained that the candidates were not invited because “the issues in this year’s campaign could provoke division and disagreement,” but some speculated that the decision was due to Democratic nominee (and Roman Catholic) John Kerry’s pro-choice stance on abortion.

During the 2000 dinner George W. Bush joked, “This is an impressive crowd. The haves and the have-mores. Some people call you the elite. I call you my base.”The quote was used in Fahrenheit 9/11 and subsequently in one of John Kerry’s 2004 campaign speeches.