text: There's no question that this year's event was corrupted by Trump's boorishness. The question is, can it be dialed back in the future or is the genie permanently out of the bottle? I hope the dinner can be returned to what it used to be. Yes, the white-tie, fat-cat part of it is a little gross, but the bigger picture for me is that the event served as an important release valve for the body politic. 
  
  Historically, the Al Smith dinner came at a critical moment in the campaign. It was an evening for setting aside inflammatory political rhetoric and letting the candidates engage in good-natured ribbing, perhaps even a bit of self-deprecating humor. It was a reminder that, despite their political differences, both sides were, first and foremost, devoted to the good of the Republic.
  
  That's a goal worth preserving, regardless of all the peripheral nonsense. I hope it can be recaptured. If not, that's just one more sad part of Donald Trump's political  legacy.